The Acting Deputy Greater Accra Regional Public Health Director Madam Farida D. Abdulai has stated that monkepox disease is on the high spread and we need to tighten up our preventive measures.
She made this at a stakeholders meeting organized by the Ghana Health Service with support from the USAID Breakthrough Action-Ghana for district Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) Subcommittee.
The meeting was to help provide information on monkeypox disease to key stakeholders in the Greater Accra Region and district to build trust and facilitate health-seeking and risk-reduction behaviour among community members.
Globally, it is reported that about 80,859 monkepox cases has been recorded with 55 deaths confirmed and 110 countries has recorded cases.
Speaking to madam Farida, she stated that some of the signs of monkepox is not different from what we saw on the Covid-19 cases. One will cough, severe headache, feverishness and others.
According to her, research has not provided information on how Ghana recorded its first case.
She said countries like Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria and Cameron have all recorded cases for the first time. But in Ghana, the health service has been able to tackle the case and the spread has been like that of COVID-19.
She therefore urged everyone to make the wearing of the face mask a mandatory the spread will not go higher.
La Nkwantanang Municipal Health Director, Dr. Priscilla Anima-Poku she said the municipality has suspected about 16 cases where 6 were confirmed with a little child as a victim.
She said their surveillance system has not proved that the cases were actually from the community but this shows that there are a lot of work to be done.On her part, the Ayawaso Municipal Health Promotion Officer, Mr. Abraham Addo said the municipality has suspected about 21 cases with the help of the 37 Military Hospital.
According to him, there has a lot of training on how to communicate with the people in the community on how to get information on the monkepox disease.
He said they have done school health education, community awareness and sensitization with stakeholders like assembly members, opinion leaders and chiefs on the spread of the disease.
He therefore called on the government support them in terms of funds to be able to carry out their duties.