Wild Life Division, GHS research into viruses

The Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission in collaboration with Noguchi Memorial Research Institute, the Ghana Health Services and the Veterinary Service Department (VSD) has undertaken a research into viruses in the country.

The research which was undertaken under the project dubbed: “Predict” was sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and ended in 2019.

It aimed at strengthening global capacity for the detection and discovery of zoonotic viruses to influence environmental and health policies to protect lives.

Speaking to the Ghanaian Times on the sidelines of a donation exercise by the Veterinary Council of Ghana to the VSD, the National Head of Epidemiology and VSD Coordinator for COVID-19 Testing Team, Dr Fenteng Danso said the research identified viruses with the potential to cause human pandemic.

He said five species of bat were confirmed to have acquired coronavirus during the research which was undertaken in the Boaben-Fiema Monkey Wildlife Sanctuary in the Bono East Region.

Dr Danso said various samples collected during the research were run on the Ebola strain, influenza, SARS, bird flu and MERS which originated from animals.

He said the research result confirmed that animals suffering from coronavirus were likely to transmit the virus among animals but was impossible to carry the virus to human.

He stressed that animals with coronavirus showed symptoms such as sneezing, coughing and running nose which were similar to human suffering from COVID-19.

Dr Danso said although animals suffering from coronavirus also showed similar symptoms such as influenza, there was no scientific prove to show that an animal in the country had acquired the COVID-19.

“We are currently studying how the COVID-19 virus behaves but as at now we have no animal suffering from the COVID-19 which is totally different from that of the coronavirus which affects animals,”
he said. 

He said the prime host of coronavirus to animals were bats but the intermediary host that transmits the virus was yet to be established.

Touching on other issues, he said although the President recently announced incentives for frontline staffs, “our frontline workers attached to the COVID-19 national frontline teams had not been added to those to enjoy from such incentives.”

We have written through our director to the Ministry Health to factor us into the data of those to enjoy from such incentives and we are looking forward to a positive result,” he said. 

Chairman of the Veterinary Council of Ghana, Dr Jonathan Amakye-Anim called on the government for adequate support to the VSD, adding that the veterinary plays vital role during such pandemics.

BY BERNARD BENGHAN