Volta, BA record 4cases of yellow fever
Four cases of yellow fever have been confirmed in the Brong-Ahafo and Volta regions.
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No casualties have, however, been reported.
A statement signed by the Director General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Ebenezer Appiah Denkyira, said three of the cases were recorded in the Jaman South District in the Brong-Ahafo Region and the fourth case in the Central Tongu District in the Volta Region.
“There is no need to panic as the cases are confined to a few communities in the aforementioned districts, and previous widespread vaccination in 2011 in those districts provided most people with immunity against yellow fever,” it assured Ghanaians, adding that the yellow fever vaccine was protective for life.
Signs and symptoms of Yellow Fever
Yellow fever is a viral hemorrhagic disease which causes bleeding from any of the body’s openings, including the nose and mouth, bloody stools and vomiting of blood at the end stage.
The symptoms may also include fever with jaundice in the early stages and with multiple organ dysfunctions resulting in kidney and liver failure.
Treatment of the disease, according to the GHS, is mostly symptomatic.
The mode of spread is the bite of infected Aedes mosquito and this can only be prevented through vaccination.
Containment measures and response actions
The GHS said there was currently an ongoing public education on signs, symptoms and prevention of the disease and added that yellow fever vaccination coverage in the affected districts had been assessed and found to be high.
It said preventive vaccination coverage was done in the affected communities in 2011 with planned selective reactive mop-up vaccination in the affected communities and sub-districts.
It also said alerts had been sent to all regions and nearby districts of the affected areas whereas surveillance activities had been enhanced across the country.
Way forward
The GHS said the risk of further transmission was low due to high yellow fever vaccination coverage in routine Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) and previous preventive vaccination campaign.
However, it said “we need to sustain enhanced surveillance, intensive public education of the disease, preventive measures as well as what people should do with suspected yellow fever cases.”