GHS Trashes Reports Of Confirmed Monkeypox Case In W/R
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has discredited reports that Ghana has recorded its first case of Monkeypox in the Western Region.
“The Western Region has not recorded any case of Monkeypox”, the GHS said.
It explained that an individual visited a hospital in the Ahanta West Municipality in the region with blisters but the initial assessment revealed that it was not Monkeypox.
Notwithstanding, the GHS said, “further investigations are underway”.
“The Regional Health Directorate of the Ghana Health service has enhanced its surveillance activities and will continue to provide the public with timely updates on this issue”, a statement released by the GHS said.
22 hours ago, 131 confirmed cases of monkeypox and a further 106 suspected cases had been recorded in 19 countries, Skynews reports.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis, that is, a virus transmitted to humans from animals with symptoms very similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe. It is caused by the monkeypox virus which belongs to the orthopoxvirus genus of the Poxviridae family. There are two clades of monkeypox virus: the West African clade and the Congo Basin (Central African) clade. The name monkeypox originates from the initial discovery of the virus in monkeys in a Danish laboratory in 1958. The first human case was identified in a child in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970.
Monkeypox virus is transmitted from one person to another by close contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials such as bedding. The incubation period of monkeypox is usually from 6 to 13 days but can range from 5 to 21 days.
Various animal species have been identified as susceptible to the monkeypox virus. Uncertainty remains on the natural history of the monkeypox virus and further studies are needed to identify the exact reservoir(s) and how virus circulation is maintained in nature. Eating inadequately cooked meat and other animal products of infected animals is a possible risk factor.
Monkeypox is usually self-limiting but may be severe in some individuals, such as children, pregnant women or persons with immunosuppression due to other health conditions. Human infections with the West African clade appear to cause less severe disease compared to the Congo Basin clade, with a case fatality rate of 3.6% compared to 10.6% for the Congo Basin clade.
Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini
