Ashanti Region Confirms First Cholera Cases Amid Growing National Outbreak

Five samples have tested positive to cholera in the Ashanti Region which has been worst affected as the spread of the disease intensifies. These cases involve three districts; the Sekyere South District topped the list with three confirmed cases, Of the total, Kumasi and Bekwai had recorded one and one respectively as of December 28, 2024. The confirmed cases arose out of 28 suspected cases; this reveal the significance of early detection and action.

With this development, the Ashanti Region joins other Regions such as the Western, Greater Accra and Central Regions which have severally struggled to contain the spread of Cholera. Together with the continual detection of new cases, 4,155 suspected cases of the lethal disease have been reported along the territories of Ghana and have resulted in 35 deaths as of December 23, 2024. Considering this unenviable death rate it becomes crucial to implement extended concepts of community health intervention and prevention strategies against the disease.

The health sector in the Ashanti Region has also increased its alert level and rallied for more resources to tackle the confirmed cases. The Ashanti Regional Health Directorate immediately called an emergency meeting at the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre. Invited participants and stakeholders in the meeting included the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), environmental health officers, water and sanitation department representatives, and district, municipal and metropolitan health directors. This kind of approach is intended to eliminate confusion and duplicate coordination to ensure that proper measures will be taken in order to stop the further transmission of the virus.

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To help reduce the occurrence of the disease, the following important steps have been taken by the Regional Health Directorate. These are for instance, disinfection of the homes of patients who have been diagnosed of having cholera in order to remove things that maybe harboring the bacteria. People have been quarantined, and further investigations are being conducted to identify those who became in contact with the patients. Early identification of new human cases has been enhanced through public health surveillance hence district teams were actively participating in this aspect. Indeed, all the public health emergency committees in the respective regions have been engaged as further escalation of local efforts.

Pre-study surveys to communities in Bekwai and Sekyere South confirmed that all reported patients had point been contained in certain regions. Significantly, none of the affected persons had used public restrooms and this indicates that local features contributed to the outbreak. Such observations lead to the conclusion that the tactics concerning sanitation / hygiene inside and around homes and communities should be sought to eliminate potential contact points where the disease may spread in future.

The regional health directorate for्ऩ.HRD led by Dr. Fred Adomako-Boateng has been out on massive sensitization taking people through the dos and don’ts of cholera outbreak. They focus on such highlights as clean hands, protect food, safe use of water amongst other aspects that have been treated in this piece. On an even note, authorities at both facility and country level are escalating the training of healthcare professionals in the respective region to ensure that definitions, identification, and contact tracing follow the recommended algorithms in management of suspected cases.

The current outbreak of cholera in Ghana began early this year with the Western Region being the hardest hit with over one hundred cases of the diseases and fifteen deaths. The disease has since extended to other parts of the world through contamination and scarcities of hygiene and cleanliness especially in the areas attacked by the disease. Being as cholera is largely a water and food borne illness, these fundamental concerns continue to be relevant in halting the epidemic.

Thisosuor of cholera in the Ashanti Region is in line with the rest of Ghana since the country cannot boast of visibly efficient ways of preventing the diffusion of cholera. Health officers are using the same media to encourage public participation and compliance with such measures in order to avoid thespread of the virus. People are advised to wash their hands, dispose of garbage correctly, seek immediate medical attention if they develop signs and symptoms of the diseases.

In future, leaders, health authorities and other stakeholders will need to combine efforts effectively in order to effectively combat and mitigate this public health menace. The Regional Health Directorate insists on its responsibility for the protection of the population’s health and has appealed to the citizens with a request to continue the actions and inform themselves.

While the government and the people of Ghana are struggling to combat the spread of the disease, this paper will analyze the current effort and the experience accrued to shape the nation’s preparedness strategy for cholera and similar diseases in the future.