Ghana Health Service Outline Measures To Contain Mpox Outbreak

The Director of Public Health at the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe, has made a passionate assurance to all Ghanaians of the country’s health system readiness and high level of preparedness to contain any potential Mpox outbreak.

Speaking in an interview on Citi FM, Dr Asiedu-Bekoe highlighted several key measures that have been put in place to ensure effective surveillance and response.

“So I think that what is good for Ghana is the sensitivity of our surveillance system. What we have done is that we have set case definitions – what will make people look for suspect cases, so that is the first step. We have the capacity to confirm. In Africa, it is only 30% who have the ability to confirm, and yet in Ghana, we have two labs – we have Noguchi, we have our reference lab. So these are big pluses for us” he stated.

He emphasised that Ghana is well-equipped to confirm Mpox cases, a capability that only 30% of African countries possess.

Asiedu-Bekoe also noted the availability of treatment facilities, particularly for severe cases, which are a legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“If they have a severe case, we have treatment centres which I will say are legacies from COVID. So these are pluses. We need to now do more training. We also need to make sure that the health workers have enough PPEs so that they don’t get themselves infected, and then we also try to make sure that we create the necessary awareness.”

Suspected Cases

Meanwhile, there has been a confirmation of a case of monkeypox in the Bia West District of the Western North Region.

The case involves a 15-year-old male who sought treatment at a district government hospital on September 25, 2024, presenting with a three-day history of fever, general body pains, a sore throat, and a rash, which initially appeared on his palms and face.

In a statement issued to caution the public, the GHS revealed that 230 other suspected cases have been reported across 88 districts in the country.

Twenty-five individuals who came into contact with the patient have been identified and are being monitored closely.

The GHS is conducting an initial public health investigation into the confirmed case and has indicated that it will notify the World Health Organisation (WHO) as part of its ongoing response efforts.

The public is advised to remain vigilant and follow health guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus.

Mpox is an infectious disease that can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes, fever, headache, muscle ache, back pain and low energy. Most people fully recover, but some get very sick.

Mpox is caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV). It is an enveloped double-stranded DNA virus of the Orthopoxvirus genus in the Poxviridae family, which includes variola, cowpox, vaccinia and other viruses.

There are two distinct clades of the virus: clade I (with subclades Ia and Ib) and clade II (with subclades IIa and IIb).

A global outbreak of clade IIb began in 2022 and continues to this day, including in some African countries.

There are also growing outbreaks of clades Ia and Ib affecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other countries in Africa. As of August 2024, clade Ib has also been detected beyond Africa.