At least 18 cases of monkeypox have so far been recorded in Ghana since the country confirmed its first case on 11 June this year, the Ghana Health Service has said.
The cases were detected in the Ashanti, Bono, Eastern and Greater Accra Regions.
However, speaking to the media on Wednesday (22 June 2022), the director general of the Ghana Health Service, Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, said no deaths have been recorded so far in connection with the disease.
“Monkeypox – as was reported globally and what we found in Ghana – we have had 72 cases so far. Among these, 18 so far have tested positive. And the last case was 14 June; that was when the last lab report came out.
“So that is where we are as far as monkeypox is concerned. The age [of people struck by the disease] ranges between nine months and 41 years, and mainly we have found them in Greater Accra, Ashanti, Bono and Eastern Regions and the case fatality rate is zero,” Dr Kuma-Aboagye said.
Watch the full briefing by Dr Kuma-Aboagye in the video clip attached below:
GHS cautions Ghanaians over handling of meat
The Ghana Health Service has advised Ghanaians to be cautious in handling meat following the confirmation of monkeypox in the country.
Nigeria has banned the sale of bushmeat as a precaution after six cases were detected there this month, bringing to 21 the number of confirmed infections this year.
The director general of the GHS, Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, told Asaase News, “So, it is the handling of such products that is crucial. It is the handling, not the eating – especially if it’s been cooked – it is the handling that has to be done carefully.”
Endemic countries
Monkeypox-endemic countries in Africa are: Benin, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ghana (newly identified in human beings), Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and South Sudan.
Fred Dzakpata
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