By Ebi Kesiena
Ghana has recorded four deaths and 116 confirmed cases of the Monkeypox disease in 2022, in 14 out of the 16 regions.
Two deaths were recorded in Upper East and one each in the Greater Accra and Central regions.
During a community stakeholder engagement at Ningo-Prampram in the Greater Accra Region, Dr Farida Abdulai, the Deputy Director, Ghana Health Service (GHS), disclosed that the Savannah and Ahafo regions did not record any cases.
Dr Abdulai said Monkeypox could affect anyone despite the age, disclosing that a 13-day old baby got infected and died.
The community stakeholders engagement was organised by the GHS, in collaboration with the USAID Breakthrough Action-Ghana programme, to educate the public on measures to overcome the disease.
However, more than half of the confirmed cases were aged between 16 and 39 years.
In August, 2022, Monkeypox was renamed ‘Mpox’ to stem stigmatisation, she said, and that the virus spread through respiratory droplets and close contact with the rashes of an infected person.
Dr Abdulai mentioned the symptoms to include acute fever with a body temperature of more than 38 degrees Celsius, coughing, cold, backache, sore throat, weakness, and rashes.
“Therefore, seek immediate medical attention anytime you experience these symptoms,” she said, adding that a free lab test would be run to determine whether one had the infection or not.
The result is then taken to the National Public Health Reference Lab for confirmation.
Dr Abdulai advised against the intake of alcohol or bathing in the sea as treatment of the disease as those were mere myths.
“Those are not the remedy for the sickness, rather seek proper health care services,” she stated.
