Confirmed cases of Monkeypox increase to 18—GHS

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) says confirmed cases of Monkeypox has increased from five in the last update to 18 which represent 25.0 per cent.

Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, the Director General of the GHS, said the confirmed cases were among the 72 suspected cases of Monkeypox which was investigated as of June 17, 2022.

Dr Kuma-Aboagye made this known during a press conference in Accra to provide a current update on public health outbreaks in the country and said the last confirmed case of Monkeypox was on June 14.

He said Regions with confirmed cases include, Greater Accra, Ashanti, Bono and Eastern, and the age of the affected persons range from nine months to 41 years with no death recorded.

The Director General stated that out of the affected persons 39 per cent were females and 61 per cent males adding that Ghana was currently dealing with multiple public health emergencies-COVID-19, Monkeypox.

He urged the public to ensure early reporting to health facilities for effective diagnoses and treatment, and to strictly adhere to all the existing COVID-19 protocols of hand hygiene, indoor wearing of nose masks and social distancing the rule, to prevent the spread of these disease outbreaks.

Experts advise that for monkeypox, prevention remained key because although there was a vaccine recently approved by some countries for which supplies were limited, it was not yet available in Ghana.

The symptoms of Monkeypox included headaches, muscle and backaches, general bodily weakness, rash with blisters on face, hands, feet, body, eyes, mouth, or genitals.