Upper West now free from guinea worm

Wa, Feb. 17, GNA - Guinea worm infections in the Upper West Region can now be said to be a thing of the past as the most recent case was imported from the Brong-Ahafo Region in 2008. This single imported case was immediately detected and treated at the Regional Hospital in Wa.

Dr. Kofi Issah, Deputy Director of Public Health at the Regional Health Administration, who spoke to the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday, stated that the Region was now "free from guinea worm". He explained that before 2008, the guinea worm situation could be described as endemic, but the Ghana Health Service (GHS) was able to put some prudent measures in place that helped to ensure its total eradication. He said the whole region was still under constant surveillance to make sure that any symptom of guinea worm was immediately detected and treated to prevent contamination of water bodies.

He said GHS had trained some guinea worm volunteers in all the communities where guinea worm cases were recorded in the past, and they are expected to report any suspected cases to the hospitals and health centres for proper diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Issah noted that with the measures in place by the GHS coupled with the efforts of government to make sure that every rural community had access to portable water, guinea worm would continue to be a thing of the past in the Upper West Region. 17 Feb. 10