Health authorities in the Bono East Region are ramping up education and surveillance efforts to save lives and prevent the potential spread of meningitis in the area.

According to the Regional Health Services, Dr Paulina Clara Appiah emphasised that the initiative aims to curb the spread of the disease.

“Starting from November when the dry season comes in, we do sometimes see a high number of meningitis cases, and so in preparation for the season, we met and notified them that we are getting close to the meningitis season. So we should get ourselves ready,” she said.

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Speaking to JoyNews reporter, Anass Sabit, she also revealed that after an investigation by the regional surveillance team, which was conducting monitoring exercises, five suspected cases were identified. However, all turned out to be negative.

“So far, for this year, we have suspected five meningitis cases, but thankfully, when the samples were sent for testing at the laboratory, they were all negative,” she noted.

Dr Appiah further urged the public to visit the nearest hospital when feeling unwell to prevent the worsening of the disease.

“What we are doing continuously is educating the general public about the signs and symptoms because, in places like Upper West, where there is an outbreak, if people do not report to the hospital early, no matter what you do, the death toll goes up. So we are educating the public through our hospitals, at their OPDs, and through our radio stations and community information centers. We want them to be aware of the signs and symptoms,” she explained.

“Meningitis, primarily caused by Streptococcus pneumonia, Haemophilus influenzae type b, and Neisseria meningitides, grows at the vulnerability of risk factors when not properly managed. The combination of conditions (environment, host and organism) is necessary for an epidemic to occur. Immunological susceptibility of the population (loss of herd immunity to the prevalent strain); Special climatic conditions (low humidity, dry season, dusty storm).

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