According to the Ghana Health Service (GHS), five cases of monkeypox have been verified in the Eastern, Bono, and Greater Accra regions.
One of the cases was a Ghanaian who had traveled to the United States from Ghana.
The instances were detected through the testing of 12 suspected cases, including one case reported from the Western Region, according to the Service’s Director-General, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye.
“I am sure of late we have had a lot of discussions on social media on monkeypox, and I think the most popular one was the one from the Western Region. That was negative; we tested and it was negative.
“So far, since the outbreak, we’ve tested 12 suspected cases in Ghana since May 24, 2022. Currently, we have confirmed five cases in three regions – Eastern, Western and Greater Accra. No deaths have occurred among the cases,” he revealed at press briefing on Wednesday.
Although there are vaccines available to treat the condition, “I don’t think we have reached a stage where we have to call for vaccination of the cases. So, prevention is the key activity that we all must embark on and also early detection and reporting if we see any rash,” Dr. Kuma-Aboagye stated.
Monkeypox
Monkeypox is a rare but potentially fatal viral virus spread by direct touch with bodily fluid or monkeypox lesions.
The symptoms are quite similar to those of smallpox patients, however they are less clinically severe, albeit aesthetically striking, with elevated pustules and fever lasting two to four weeks in the most severe instances.
Monkeypox is endemic in Benin, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ghana (only in animals), Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, the Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, and South Sudan.
More about the disease
