Meningitis claims lives in Ashanti, Volta regions
The deadly pneumococcal meningitis continues to claim more lives in parts of the country.
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The latest area to record mortality is the Ashanti Region where the disease has claimed four lives in two weeks.
Two others have been killed by another strain of meningitis — meningococcal meningitis — in the region.
The deaths recorded in the Ashanti Region bring to 39 the number of people who have so far been killed by the meningitis nationwide.
The deaths in Ashanti were not captured in the national statistics released by the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Ghana Health Service (GHS) at a press conference in Accra last Monday.
Meanwhile, the first case of cerebro-spinal meningitis (CSM) has been reported in the Volta Region.
These were disclosed to the Daily Graphic by the Deputy Director in charge of Clinical Care at the GHS, Dr Fred Adomako-Boateng, after a media briefing on the health situation in the Ashanti Region for the last quarter of 2015 in Kumasi yesterday.
The two diseases present themselves with the following: headache and any of these symptons – neck pain, neck stiffness, convulsion, confusion, bulging anterior fontanelle in children under one or sudden inexplicable death.
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People have been asked to avoid crowded areas, drink a lot of water, improve ventilation in rooms and report to the nearest facility as soon as possible with any malaria-like symptoms.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has stepped in to provide technical support for Ghana to contain pneumococcal meningitis.
The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, is also providing support for the confirmatory testing of samples.
The centres will also help the MoH to identify the causative organisms of the outbreak.
Dr Adomako-Boateng explained that 17 suspected cases had been reported in the Ashanti Region so far, out of which 16 cases had been confirmed. The cases were reported from 10 out of the 30 districts in the region.
Cross-border
He said that there was a cross-border transmission from Brong Ahafo to Ashanti and cited a case which was believed to have been transmitted from the Atebubu District in Brong Ahafo to Ejura Sekyedumasi in Ashanti.
The ages of the dead range from 15 to 65.
A breakdown of the cases reported in the districts are: Ofinso, three; Adansi North, three; Ahafo Ano South, two; Atwima Nwabiagya, two; Ejisu Juaben, two, while Afigya Kwabre, Kumasi Metro, Atebubu, Offinso North and Adansi South all reported one case each.
Dr Adomako-Boateng appealed to the media to assist the GHS to educate people on the need to report suspected cases without delay.
He said some health personnel had been dispatched to some senior high schools in the region to educate the students on the symptoms and prevention of the disease.
In the case of Volta Region, the Regional Director of the GHS, Dr Joseph Nuertey, said the regional directorate had been informed of seven suspected cases of meningitis in South Tongu, Keta, Ketu-North, Krachi West and Nkwanta South.
However, tests conducted on the cases confirmed one case of cerebro-spinal meningitis in Krachi West.
Dr Nuertey denied reports that the region had recorded cases of pneumococcal meningitis.
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