There has been a surge in the number of polio cases across the country since July this year, and this has been an issue of concern for both the Government and other health partners.
Government and donor partners, are therefore, making frantic efforts at addressing the issue while the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and its partners have embarked on a number of measures to contain the situation.
In some few years back, the country was nearly declared polio-free as it had chalked a lot of success in eradicating the disease, and so the current trend is disturbing phenomenon for most stakeholders in the health sector.
Briefing journalists on the status of the Polio disease in the country, Dr Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe, Director, Diseases Control, GHS, ”said the new virus started as a case from the environment seen in Tamale and later some cases was seen in humans”.
He said at now there have been 10 cases reported in humans while some viruses from the environment have been isolated.
Dr Asiedu-Bekoe was speaking on the side-lines of the Second Ghana Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Trainings Programme (GFELTP) and Scientific Conference and Competency Graduation held in Accra where 58 health professionals involving Frontline, Intermediate and Advanced level trainees graduated after going through various levels of training.
He said following the Tamale outbreak, “as an intervention, the directorate has had a number of vaccination exercises in several regions and districts.
He said hopefully, early next year, the GHS would start a nationwide Polio vaccination campaign to cover the whole country, adding that a lot of work was also being done by the health partners to ensure that there was no complications or minimal effects with the current vaccines.
Explaining the seemingly upsurge in Polio cases, Dr Asiedu-Bekoe said the world has been polio-free for most countries excerpt for Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan, but until recently, there had been surge of the disease in some African countries including Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, and Togo.
He said children from nine months up to four years would be covered in the nationwide campaign while those under five would be involved in the oral polio vaccine.
Source: GNA
