The Ghana Health Service has confirmed that five cases of the Monkeypox virus have been recorded so far in the country.
Monkeypox, according to the Health Directorate, is transmitted from human to human through close skin contact with body fluid or monkeypox lesions.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, June 8, 2022, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye said no death has been recorded yet out of the five cases.
“So far since the outbreak in Europe occurred, we tested 12 suspected cases in Ghana since 24 May. Currently, we have confirmed five cases in three regions – Eastern, Western, and Greater Accra – this is where we discovered the five cases, no death has occurred among the cases here”
“One of the cases has been recorded in a Ghanaian who traveled to the US from Ghana, he might have picked it from here” he added.
He noted that though there are vaccines available in other countries to curb the virus, Ghana is yet to receive one therefore the general public must be protected to prevent contracting it.
Dr. Kuma-Aboagye also called for early detection and reporting of any suspected mild signs to any health facility. Also, he advised Ghanaians to avoid skin-to-skin contact with affected persons.
Amidst efforts of the Ghana Health Service to avert further cases of the virus, the Director-General indicated that the sector has commenced contact tracing to ensure that all cases are identified and isolated.
