by Alex Osei-Boateng
ACCRA, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has warned of an outbreak of swine flu, or H1N1, in the country, local media reported on Monday.
The alert followed confirmed H1N1 cases at a high school that killed 13 people in the past seven months.
More than 40 students have so far been known to be affected at the Kumasi Academy Senior High School in the Ashanti Region.
The H1N1 virus is a sub-type of influenza A virus that was the most common cause of human influenza infection in the 2009 global pandemic. The disease is spread mainly via droplets, but all respiratory secretions and body fluids, including diarrhea stools, of infected patients, are considered to be potentially infectious.
It has an incubation period of one to four days and has a high virulence if not diagnosed and treated on time.
The swine flu was last recorded in Ghana in 2009.
