Accra, March 22, GNA – Out of the recorded 4, 586
cases and 64 deaths recorded from the cholera outbreak in
the country since September 2010, the Greater Accra
Region is leading with 2, 756 cases and 31 deaths. This had been attributed to the high rate of filth
generated in Accra coupled with the perennial flooding and
the sale of contaminated food in the city. Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh, Minister of Health who was
addressing the media after an inspection of some health
facilities where some patients are on admission in Accra on
Tuesday, cited the Upper East, Eastern and the Central
regions as the other regions which had been hit by the
epidemic. He asked people who suspected that they were catching
the infection to seek early treatment since treatment is free. “I urge people who have started exhibiting the signs and
symptoms of cholera to report as early as possible to all
government health facilities for early treatment since it is free
of charge. It has been detected most of those who die from
it were the result from delays in seeking treatment,” he said. He said the Ministry of Health had made available
enough logistics and medication to some health facilities
such as the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Adabraka and
Maamobi Polyclinics to handle the epidemic and urged
nurses to be cautious in treating infected persons. At the Maamobi Polyclinic, Dr Mrs Mildred
Kummassah, who is the Medical Director in charge, said
eight cases and four deaths had been recorded by the
Polyclinic since 25th January 2010. She expressed concern about the high rate at which
people were encroaching on the polyclinic’s land and urged
government to come to their aid. “We also sometimes experience power fluctuations
which had in some cases got our machines broken down
because we do not have a reliable transformer,” she said. At the Dworwulu Special School, Mrs Veronica Sackey,
Headmistress, said the School had recorded seven cases
and one death since the disease was first detected on March
19, 2010. “The first case was detected when a student who had
visited the home returned. She died on the same day from
diarrhoea,” she explained. She said the school had sent all infected persons to
hospital and had taken stock of large quantity of anti
diarrhea drugs. It had also improved the sanitary conditions of the
school in order to stop the disease from spreading.
Source: GhanaWeb
