Pneumonia Cases Soar

REPORTS REACHING DAILY GUIDE indicate that compared to last year, pneumonia (acute chest infection) cases reported at the country's health facilities have been on the increase since June.

Even though statistics on the current turn of events are yet to be made public, medical experts say the number of cases reported on a daily basis by both adults and children at the OPD of most health facilities show an increasing trend.

Dr. Eric Kwaku Sifah, Medical Superintendant at the Princess Marie Louise Hospital in Accra in an interview expressed shock over the high number of pneumonia cases for both children and adults at the hospital since January.

He added that pneumonia cases were usually highest between June and September.

He said pneumonia is an inflammation or infection of the lungs most commonly caused by a bacteria or virus which can also be caused by inhaling vomit or other foreign substances.

'The viruses and bacteria that cause pneumonia are contagious and are usually found in fluids from the mouth or nose of an infected person, and can spread by coughs and sneezes, by sharing drinking glasses and eating utensils with an infected person, and contact with used tissues or handkerchiefs by these patients.'

According to Dr. Sifa, hand washing is important especially when one is around a person with pneumonia.

He indicated that the highest risk groups for pneumonia are people over age 65, infants, and young children. People with serious chronic illnesses such as diabetes or heart disease are also at risk.

He consequently recommended vaccination as the vital means of combating pneumonia but cautioned individuals to contact their physicians first especially if they have already been vaccinated.

Head of the Public Health Division of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Joseph Amankwah in a telephone conversation with DAILY GUIDE, confirmed the situation saying the upsurge of pneumonia infections may have something to do with the cold weather in the country at the moment, though this has not been verified.

He said public health units were being setup at various health facilities to enable the GHS get a systematic disease catchment plan to conduct a weekly surveillance that would result in concrete data on the infection hopefully by next year.

He said the disease had become a major challenge to health authorities in the northern part of the country which had already reported 13 deaths out of 50 recorded cases between January and June this year.

He gave the assurance that from next year, a new vaccine called the pneumococcal vaccine would be introduced to treat the disease.

By Henrietta Abayie