The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has begun to see some decline in reported cases of meningitis in the country following massive education and vaccination exercises across the country.
The latest vaccination exercise took place at the Jirapa, Nandom and Nadowli Districts of the Upper West Region following the outbreak of Neisseria meningitis Type W, which affected over 50 people and claimed more than 15 lives in the region.
Director of Public Health Division at the GHS, Dr Badu Sarkodie, speaking to DAILY GUIDE, said plans put in place by the health service and its development partners had helped in the success of reducing the incidence of meningitis in the country.
He said, “We had 200,000 vaccines for the three districts. It is coming down significantly. In Brong Ahafo Region, I don’t think there is anybody in the hospital with meningitis and in the Upper West Region anytime you apply the vaccine the load has come down so I can say for the past two weeks or so no one has died of meningitis.”
Dr Sarkodie was optimistic that with the measures and education, the country would soon see an end to meningitis cases.
Neisseria meningitis was recorded as an outbreak in parts of the Upper East and West Regions two years ago, but was controlled using vaccines.
Current statistics show that about 550 people have been infected by different strain of the disease including pneumococcal, meningococcal and Neisseria meningitis, with about 100 lives lost.
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