By Linda Naa Deide Aryeetey
Accra, July 17, GNA – The Dengue Fever outbreak in Ghana has spread to the Central region with the number of cases increasing to 36 in the last three days.
Nine cases were first detected in communities in the Eastern region by health care workers using an appropriate Case Definition on July 14th.
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) said only one of the infected persons was admitted and discharged.
It said the remaining cases were stable and being managed at home.
The Service said investigations carried out by Entomologists and Epidemiologists across adjoining districts in Eastern and Central regions indicated a surge in malarial-like conditions.
GHS said more samples from suspected cases had been submitted to the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) for confirmation.
The Service said it was orienting clinicians on the case definition at all levels, including CHPS compounds
It urged the public, especially those in the affected areas to prevent mosquito bites by wearing protective clothing and using mosquito repellents.
“If you must keep water containers around your home, ensure it is tightly covered, discard water in containers if the water is not being used,” it said.
The Service urged farmers to ensure that receptacles that could collect water such as empty cocoa pods and coconut shells were discarded, crushed, and buried properly.
It also urged the public to sleep in insecticide treated bed nets, avoid self-medication and report to the nearest health facility when experiencing high grade fever.
Dengue virus, according to the World Health Organization, is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes.
Cases are commonly asymptomatic or cause mild febrile illness.
A suspected case is defined as any person with an acute febrile illness of 2-7 days duration accompanied by two or more of the following symptoms: Severe headache mostly in the forehead, sudden onset of high-grade fever, body aches – muscle, bone and joint pains, nausea and or vomiting and rash.
Some cases will develop severe dengue, which may involve shock, severe bleeding, or severe organ impairment.
The WHO says effective vector control interventions are key to the prevention and control of dengue and vector control activities should target all areas where there is a risk of human-vector contact, such as residences, workplaces, schools, and hospitals.
Globally, over 7.6 million dengue cases have been reported to WHO as of 30th April 2024, this comprised about 3.4 million confirmed cases, over 16 000 severe cases, and over 3000 deaths.
In Africa, from 1 January to 28 April, 13 countries are known to have ongoing active transmission of the dengue virus.
Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Niger, São Tomé and Principe, Senegal, and the Seychelles, have recorded 32,925 dengue cases, 14 095 confirmed, 1051 severe cases and 57 deaths have been reported.
The WHO says a circulation of three of the four dengue serotypes of the dengue virus- DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3 has been identified in the WHO African region.
The current priority countries based on dengue burden are Burkina Faso, Mauritius, and Mali.
GNA