Cholera Hits Ashanti Region

HEALTH OFFICIALS in the Ashanti Region have warned residents over a potential outbreak of cholera - an acute intestinal infection - as they strengthen surveillance on the disease and other priority ones at various districts in the region.

Dr Fredrick Adomako Boateng, Ashanti Regional Deputy Health Director in-charge of Clinical, said the region was among those that report cholera as an annual disease, indicating that the cholera season had arrived.

Speaking at a press briefing in Kumasi, Dr Boateng stated that the region had recorded seven confirmed cases in the second quarter of this year alone in four districts.

According to him, Kumasi Metro recorded three cases out of the seven, followed by the Ahafo-Ano South District with two cases, while Afigya-Kwabre District and Bekwai Municipality recorded one apiece.

Since 2011, Ashanti Region has been reporting cases of cholera, most of which Dr Boateng said were imported into the region as a result of its central location and transit point for other regions in the country.

Last year, the region recorded 297 cases with four deaths, and this has prompted health officials to put it on alert over a potential outbreak.

'Surveillance and other priority diseases are still ongoing in all the districts. In the early part of the year, an alert letter on cholera was sent to all the districts by the deputy director of public health to strengthen surveillance in their respective districts,' he stressed.

Dr Boateng said this year's recorded cases were neither linked to those districts nor linked to themselves, noting that investigations showed they were imported.

'All have been treated and discharged; their contacts have been traced and educated. None developed any such condition,' he asserted.

According to him, since cholera spreads through faecal-oral route (eating or drinking contaminated foods), it could be prevented by means of proper washing of all uncooked and raw foods, safe and proper disposal of human excreta, refuse and hand-washing.

He explained that cholera had incubation period of five days, and usually in the range of two to three days, and called on the public to immediately report to any health facility if they found any person with symptoms such as copious-painless but watery diarrhoea, severe dehydration and vomiting.

Dr Alexis Nang-Beifubah, Ashanti Regional Director of Health, admonished the media to seek factual information from experts before publication.

'There is no need to play politics and sensationalism with health issues. We will all suffer and it does no one good,' he emphasized.