.Health Minister Assures as Vaccination Expanded to Adults
The Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh has allayed public fears over the recent yellow fever outbreak, stating emphatically that the situation is firmly under control.
Mr Akandoh has urged Ghanaians to remain calm as health authorities scale up surveillance and targeted vaccination efforts across the country.
Briefing the media, Mr. Akandoh revealed that 450 suspected cases have been logged nationwide across all 16 regions.
The Upper West Region is currently the epicenter, recording 88 of those suspected cases. Out of this regional total, three cases have been officially confirmed by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research reference laboratory.
The suspected cases in the Upper West Region are distributed across several districts: Wa West (27), Sissala West (23), Sissala East (21), the Funsi area (7), Efiama Msua Busa (7), Nadowli-Kaleo (1), Wa East (1), and Wa West Municipal (1).
While there are reported deaths currently under investigation in connection with the outbreak, the Minister cautioned against attributing them to yellow fever without conclusive laboratory confirmation.
To contain the spread, the government is expanding its immunization drive beyond routine childhood vaccinations to cover adults in the three major epicentres.
The new campaign will target everyone from nine months to 60 years old in the affected areas.
Mr. Akandoh disclosed that an additional 187,000 vaccine doses have been requested to support the exercise, with deployment teams actively preparing to launch the campaign in the Upper West Region.
The minister challenged Ghanaians to lower the conspiracy theory of avoiding vaccination citing spiritual believes and cultural values adding that those confirmed cases were found to have not vaccinated before.
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Educating the public on the nature of the disease, Dr. Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe, Director of Public Health at the Ghana Health Service, clarified that yellow fever is transmitted solely through the bite of infected mosquitoes and cannot spread directly from person to person.
He noted that initial symptoms include fever, headache, body pains, and abdominal discomfort, but warned that severe cases can progress to bleeding. Dr. Asiedu-Bekoe strongly urged the public to take protective measures against mosquito bites by using insect repellents, wearing long-sleeved clothing and trousers, and sleeping under treated mosquito nets.
He issued a specific caution for residents to remain vigilant during the daytime, noting that the mosquito species responsible for transmitting yellow fever are most active during daylight hours.
The Health Minister issued a stern warning against the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories regarding vaccines.
He urged the public to rely exclusively on official health updates and to cooperate fully with authorities as the vaccination exercise commences.