The Minister of Health, Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has assured the public that the yellow fever situation in the country is under control, urging residents to remain calm and rely on official information as health authorities intensify surveillance and vaccination efforts.
Briefing the media on the outbreak, he said 450 suspected yellow fever cases had been recorded across the 16 regions, with 88 reported in the Upper West Region. Three cases from the region have been confirmed by the reference laboratory at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research.
The suspected cases in the Upper West Region include Wa West (27), Sissala West (23), Sissala East (21), Efiama Msua Busa (7), Nadowli-Kaleo (1), Wa East (1), and Wa West Municipal (1), alongside seven cases in the Funsi area. Health authorities are investigating reported deaths, noting that these cannot be attributed to yellow fever without laboratory confirmation.
Hon. Akandoh said the government is expanding vaccination beyond routine childhood immunisation to cover people aged 9months to 60 years in affected areas. He disclosed that an additional 187,000 vaccine doses had been requested to support the exercise, with vaccination teams prepared to begin the campaign in the Upper West Region.
The Director of Public Health at the Ghana Health Service, Dr Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe, explained that yellow fever is transmitted through the bite of infected mosquitoes and is not spread directly from person to person. Symptoms include fever, headache, body pains and abdominal discomfort, while severe cases may develop bleeding.
He urged the public to protect themselves against mosquito bites by using repellents, wearing long-sleeved clothing and trousers, and sleeping under mosquito nets, particularly during the day when the mosquitoes that transmit yellow fever are active.
The Minister cautioned against misinformation and vaccine-related conspiracy theories, encouraging the public to follow health advice and participate in the vaccination campaign.
