The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has confirmed six new cases of Monkeypox (Mpox), infection increasing the total to 91.
In the latest update, the service indicated that two patients were currently on admission under close monitoring with no deaths.
The GHS said it remained vigilant as it actively monitors infections in all 16 regions through its surveillance system to prevent further spread.
Mrs Mabel Asafo, Acting Director of Health Promotion, GHS, in an earlier virtual media engagement, indicated that the service was engaging in Social Behavioural Change (SBC) activities in the various communities, schools, and markets across the country to help prevent further spread.
She said awareness creation among the public while ensuring adherence to safety protocols would go a long way to contain the disease.
Mrs Asafo urged the media to support the service to debunk misinformation and disinformation about the disease among the populace.
“Inability to debunk misinformation and rumour will create panic, spread of the disease, confusion, and lack of trust in institutions as well as have dire consequences on the economy. We appeal to the media to help keep the public informed, create announcements, leverage on social media platforms, help fact-checking,” she stated.
She also urged the Ghana Education Service (GES) to ensure that school children did not share plates and clothes to prevent the spread, adding the key messages had been sent to the GES to further educate students while identifiable groups, including market women, persons with disability and other groups had been contacted.
The Acting Director of Health Promotion advised the public to be quick in reporting any form of rush on their skin while ensuring frequent hand washing to help prevent contracting and spreading the disease.
Ensure frequent handwashing with soap and water or hand sanitizer, especially before and after touching sores, she stated.
Mrs Safo recommended wearing masks and covering lesions around others, keeping skin dry and uncovered, and disinfecting shared spaces.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Mpox a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) last August, due to a new variant spreading in Africa.
Mpox has been recorded in over 13 African countries, marking the second WHO alert in two years.
As of last year, more than 17,000 suspected cases and 517 deaths had been reported across Africa, according to the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
The WHO last year approved an Mpox vaccine, aimed at timely and increased access for millions at risk in Africa, where the latest outbreak has infected more than 20,000.
