Monkeypox claims 4 lives, 116 local cases recorded

Ghana has recorded four deaths, with 116 confirmed cases of the monkeypox disease in 14 of the 16 regions as of the close of 2022.

Two deaths were recorded in Upper East, and one each in the Greater Accra and Central regions.

The Savannah and Ahafo regions did not record any cases, Dr Farida Abdulai, the Deputy Director, Ghana Health Service (GHS), disclosed during a community stakeholder engagement at Ningo-Prampram in the Greater Accra Region.

The event was organised by the GHS, in collaboration with the USAID Breakthrough Action-Ghana Programme, to educate the public on measures to overcome the disease.

Dr Abdulai said monkeypox could affect anyone despite the age, disclosing that a 13-day-old baby died of it.

More than half of the confirmed cases were, however, aged between 16 and 39 years.

In August 2022, monkeypox was renamed Mpox to stem stigmatisation.

The virus spreads through respiratory droplets and close contact with the rashes of an infected person.

Experts

Medical experts say the symptoms 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,” Dr Abdulai said, stressing that a free lab test would be run to determine whether one had the infection or not.

She said alcohol intake or sea bathing were unproven treatment for the disease, stressing that those were myths without known scientific basis.

“Those are not the remedy for the sickness. Rather, seek proper healthcare services,” she stated.

 

Source: GNA