Cholera outbreak: Ghana Health Service advocates a return to regular handwashing

The Ghana Health Service is advocating a return to the sanitary systems that were put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic to help contain the spread of the prevailing cholera outbreak in the country.

The Director General of the Service, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, speaking to members of the press on October 30, noted that the severity of cases being seen in the Ada East District, the most hit, is beginning to slow down.

Since the declaration of the cholera outbreak in the Ada East and West districts of the Greater Accra Region, more than fifty cases have been confirmed with 2 deaths so far.

Over the week, the District Security Coordinating Councils of the two districts have had series of meetings in the bid to review interventions being implemented.

According to the Ghana Health Service, it has gotten to a threshold where it doesn’t test every case but treats them as and when they come, as well as intensifying efforts to contain the spread by tackling the insanitary situation that stimulates the disease.

Dr Kuma-Aboagye called for intensified education among the populace.

“We have outbreaks of cholera in almost the entire West African bloc. So as people move in and come back, the fishermen go and come back. It’s more like the importation of cases but if we tackle the WASH systems it will tackle it. We are working very hard to contain it. The first case was in August, and we contained it and it sprout again. So far, Ada West hasn’t reported cases in the last two weeks, and we hope it stays so.

The number of cases we are seeing in Ada East, the severity is low. But what we must know is that once we reach a certain threshold, we don’t test every case, and we treat them as and when they come. But we need more education. And we need to ensure that people go back to the sanitary systems that were put in place during the COVID time. Hand washing, eating of warm food, clean environment and all. That’s the only way we will be able to contain the spread quickly,” he stated.

The Director General further noted that discussions are ongoing to synchronize the response against the disease outbreak with that of neighboring countries.

‘‘We are not going to be responsible for how other countries manage their outbreak and if they don’t manage it well, we will remain at risk. And so, the most important is handwashing and sanitary systems. They have improved but they need to be maintained and it’s about the community. Chiefs to ensure people have clean environment and provision of potable water. We have had meetings. The public health has had meetings with the neighbouring countries, and I am sure we will have further meetings to share ideas on how together we can contain the spread, and we are also working on our people who travel out and come back to make sure they take the necessary measures not to contract the disease.” He noted

Dr Kuma-Aboagye entreated the public to uphold cleanliness during this period.

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