The Ghana Health Service (GHS) launched a one-dose cholera vaccination marketing campaign on Saturday in three subdistricts of Awutu Senya East within the Central Region.
The month-long initiative, set to conclude on December 3, 2024, goals to vaccinate 150,634 individuals within the focused sub districts.
The marketing campaign comes six weeks after Ghana skilled a cholera outbreak throughout 4 areas, with 2,385 suspected circumstances, 196 confirmed circumstances, and 21 deaths reported.
Dr. Kwame Amponsa-Achiano, Programme Manager of the Expanded Programme on Immunization at GHS, defined through the launch in Accra that Awutu Senya was prioritized for vaccination as a result of it accounted for over half of the suspected cholera circumstances.
As of November twenty seventh, the Central Region had recorded 1,016 suspected cholera circumstances, with 77 confirmed circumstances and 9 deaths.
Dr. Amponsa-Achiano additionally indicated that the vaccination marketing campaign may broaden to Ga South, Ada, and the Western Region after the elections.
He emphasised that the phased, reactive cholera vaccination marketing campaign aimed to curb the continuing outbreak, alleviate struggling, and safeguard public well being.
The oral cholera vaccine is secure, efficient, and can assist scale back transmission by boosting immunity within the inhabitants, alongside different cholera prevention measures.
Dr. Amponsa-Achiano famous that the rise in cholera circumstances and fatalities since September 2024 had largely affected areas with restricted entry to secure water sources, the place individuals relied on rivers, wells, and streams for consuming water.
“Poor sanitary situations in affected areas and neighboring districts together with shared latrines and open defecation create a conducive atmosphere for outbreak to unfold,” he stated
Dr. Amponsa-Achiano urged the general public to observe correct hygiene by washing fingers completely with cleaning soap and working water, each earlier than and after meals and after utilizing the restroom.
He suggested that every one meals are well-cooked and eaten whereas scorching, and that fruits must be washed and correctly peeled earlier than consumption.
The public must also keep away from direct contact with bodily fluids when caring for sick people and search speedy medical consideration on the nearest well being facility in the event that they expertise extreme diarrhea or vomiting.
Dr. Frank John Lule, the World Health Organization’s Representative to Ghana, stated that cholera served as a stark reminder of social inequities and underdevelopment.
He warned that the illness may result in extreme dehydration and, if untreated, may very well be deadly.
Although Dr. Lule acknowledged the vaccine’s security and effectiveness, he pressured that the long-term resolution to controlling cholera and different fecal-oral ailments lay in financial growth, in addition to guaranteeing common entry to wash consuming water and correct sanitation.
He urged all eligible people within the affected areas to make the most of the vaccination marketing campaign and referred to as on healthcare staff to strictly adhere to cholera an infection prevention and management protocols.
As of October 31, 2024, there have been 481,516 reported cholera circumstances worldwide, together with 3,990 deaths.
The African Region (AFRO) continues to bear the biggest share of the burden, accounting for 67.7 per cent of world circumstances (325,855) and 98.1 per cent of world deaths (3,913).
Cholera is an acute diarrheal an infection attributable to consuming meals or water contaminated with the Vibrio cholerae bacterium.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has highlighted that cholera remained a major international public well being risk and was a stark indicator of social inequality and underdevelopment.
Common signs of cholera embody frequent diarrhea, vomiting, and dehydration, together with belly cramps, fever, headache, fatigue, dry mouth, a dry throat, and decreased urine output.
Severe circumstances of cholera may be deadly inside hours if left untreated. While many individuals contaminated with cholera could not present signs, the micro organism can nonetheless be current of their stool for one to 10 days after an infection, contaminating the atmosphere and probably infecting others.
A small share of contaminated people could develop acute watery diarrhea with extreme dehydration, which may be life-threatening with out immediate remedy.
Cholera transmission is strongly linked to insufficient entry to wash water and sanitation services, with at-risk areas typically together with peri-urban slums and camps for internally displaced individuals.
To scale back the unfold of cholera, early detection and remedy are important.
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has suggested the general public to drink solely handled water, eat meals that has been well-cooked or correctly dealt with, and keep away from shut contact with contaminated people.
It can be essential to observe good hygiene by washing fingers with cleaning soap and working water, guaranteeing correct disposal of feces, and in search of speedy medical care if experiencing extreme diarrhea and vomiting.
