Effective surveillance system put in pace to fight CSM

Accra, Feb. 16, GNA - Dr Lawson Ahadzie, Head of the National Surveillance Control Unit of the Ghana Health Service, on Monday said Ghana has put in place effective surveillance system to control the outbreak of Cerebrospinal Meningitis.

He said the unit was working closely with the laboratory unit to detect the disease early enough to enable it to respond as quickly as possible.

Dr Ahadzie said this at a scientific forum in Accra organised by the Medical Laboratory Technology Students' Association of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.

The forum, under the theme: "Enhancing Effective Diagnosis and Management Meningococcal Meningitis in Ghana" was to create awareness on the dangers of the disease and the need for the Government to give more attention to it.

Dr Ahadzie noted that there was an outbreak of the disease every year especially in the dry season from November through May with the Upper East, Upper West, Northern and Brong Ahafo Regions and the northern part of the Volta Regions being the most affected areas. The disease, caused by bacteria, is transmitted by direct contact of respiratory droplets from nose and throat of an infected person. It has an incubation period of two to 10 days.

Its signs and symptoms include sudden onset of intense headache, fever, nausea, vomiting could also result in stiff neck, coma, convulsion, brain damage and death.

Children under the ages of 15 years are the most affected group.

Dr Ahadzie said meningitis type A and C was the most common found in Ghana but vaccines were available to control it. He said a few of W135, which was more prevalent in Burkina Faso were sometimes detected in the country and even though the vaccine to treat this type was not very common, the World Health Organisation (WHO) was working in conjunction with vaccine manufacturers to produce six million ACW vaccines to fight the W135 type of meningitis in Africa. He appealed to the public to report early enough to the nearest clinic whenever they experienced the signs and symptoms of the disease for prompt medical treatment.

Dr Harry Opata, National Officer in Charge of Communicable Disease Control of the WHO Office in Ghana, who gave an overview of the situation, said 1996 recorded the highest cases on CSM with 25,000 deaths registered.

He said in 2003, 1,681 cases with 236 deaths were recorded. This year 181 cases with 22 deaths have so far been recorded with the Northern Region recording the highest number of cases. He pledged WHO's support in ensuring that people have access to good health care by ensuring that appropriate measures were put in place to prevent the occurrence of disease.