Government intensifies efforts to control meningitis pneumococcus

Medical Research Council Unit, a World Health Organization (WHO) collaborating laboratory based in The Gambia, is in Ghana for 10 days to provide laboratory reagents and assist on-site training of staff and diagnosis for the treatment of Meningitis pneumococcus.
 
The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr. Ebenezer Appiah Denkyira, who disclosed this at a news conference in Accra, yesterday, added that the Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research (NMIMR), with support from the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR) was also conducting tests for meningitis at all hospital laboratories across the country.
 
These, among others, Dr. Appiah Denkyira said, were part of efforts by government to treat and manage the disease and to ensure that the reported cases do not multiply.
 
He said a field investigation undertaken by the GHS had identified the predominant causative agent of the disease as pneumococcus and gave the assurance that this was being treated with effective antibiotics.
 
He disclosed that a team of health workers had visited the affected communities to trace and manage cases as appropriate and that all regions and districts had been alerted to look for cases for prompt management while donations of antibiotics from private sectors were being received and distributed to affected areas for use.
 
Dr Appiah Denkyira noted that the harsh weather condition was a constant threat for more reported cases of the disease and cautioned Ghanaians to be on high alert to report any suspected cases, noting that the national health system was working with development partners to control the situation.
 
He said with increasing awareness of the disease, GHS would expect that people reported early when they noticed any of the symptoms like stiffness in the neck, convulsion, fever or headache and bulging anterior in children under one year.
 
He urged the media to continue to intensify public awareness and underscored the importance of varied social mobilization strategies including radio stations, traditional and religious leaders, public address systems and gong-gong beating to mobilize the communities for positive response.
 
Source: ISD