A total of 304 new cholera cases have been reported in the first 16 days of 2015 in six districts in the Greater Accra and Volta regions of the country.

The cases were recorded between January 1 and 16, with no deaths reported.

Dr Emmanuel K. Dzotsi, Public Health Specialist at the Disease Surveillance Department of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), made this known in a press re­lease.

He said almost 41% of all the new cholera cases were reported from the Accra Metropolis while all the cases in the Volta Region were reported from Wli community in the Hohoe Municipality.

He explained that between January 5 and 15, 2015, six out of 23 stool samples, representing 30%, from the Greater Accra Region tested at the National Public Health Reference Laboratory confirmed positive for Vibrio Cholerae (ogawa).

This suggests that the cholera outbreak is still ongo­ing in the Greater Accra Region, he noted.

According to him, the other regions - Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Northern, Upper East, Upper West and Western - have not reported any new cholera cases from January 1 - 16, 2015.

The cholera outbreak can be declared over in these regions.

The outbreak which started in June 2014 has protracted, spilling over to 2015.

As of January 16, 2015, a total of 29,248 cases, in­cluding 243 deaths (Case fatality rate of 0.8%), have been reported from 130 out of the 216 districts (60%) in all the 10 regions of the country.

Dr Dzotsi appealed to the Ministry of Water Re­sources and the Ghana Water Company Limited to en­sure supply of safe water to affected communities without water.

He also suggested continuous Mass Community Ed­ucation and social mobilisation with announcements on cholera prevention in the affected areas.

He charged Metropolitan, Municipal and District As­semblies (MMDAs) and the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to ensure that food and water vendors provide hygienic food and water.

The Public Health Specialist appealed to the Min­istry of Local Government and the FDA to enforce by­laws on environmental sanitation, water and food safety.

Dr Dzotsi asked the National Technical Co-ordinat­ing Committee (NTCC), Regional and District Emer­gency Management Committees to bring on board other stakeholders and partners in the management of the out­break and prevention of further outbreaks. - History of cholera in Ghana

Ghana has seen outbreaks of the disease since the 1970s.

A total of 9,542 cholera cases with 100 deaths were reported in Ghana in 2012, but no deaths were recorded in 2013 despite some reported cases of the disease in the country.

In 2011, 10,628 cholera cases with 105 deaths were reported.

Between 1970 and 2012, Ghana recorded a total of 5,498 cholera deaths, according to data compiled by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

According to the statistics, 1,546 deaths were recorded between 1970 and 1980 while 2,258 deaths were recorded between 1981 and 1990.

Between 1991 and 1999, cholera claimed 1,067 lives, and between 200&and 2012, 627 deaths were recorded.