The Health Minister Kwaku Agyemang Manu says efforts are underway to aggressively deal with rising Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) cases in the country.

According to him, just as government is allocating resources towards the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, measures have been put in place to curb fatalities associated with CSM.

“We are doing education, doing sensitisation, community engagement all that we can do. The social distancing that we are preaching for Covid, we are asking for same for Meningitis and there are teams going round trying to educate so people won’t go close to each other and avoid getting the CSM," he told Parliament on Friday, April 17.

Currently, some 409 persons in the northern belt of the country have tested positive for Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) out of which 40 have died. The Upper West region alone has reported 258 of the reported cases raising concerns among residents and health authorities.

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) subsequently released a strategic plan aimed at mitigating the impact of the CSM outbreak in the country.

 According to GHS, 7,500 vials of Ceftriaxone; the appropriate antibiotic for managing meningitis has been released to treat patients. In its statement, GHS also said intense education has started on the causes and prevention of CSM in all affected regions.

Reiterating these measures in responses to comments from Minority Chief Whip Muntaka Mubarak that his Ministry is to be blamed for the deaths caused by CSM, Mr. Agyemang- Manu said all was being done to prevent further deaths.

“We are working on how to get the bacteria and also we are chasing the CSM with the same effort we are using to chase the coronavirus,” he said.