More than 120 cases of cholera have been recorded in five assemblies of the Central Region after a week of an outbreak.
They are Cape Coast Metropolis, Mfantsiman Municipality, Komenda Edina Abrem (KEEA), Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese and Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa Districts, with majority of the reported cases from Cape Coast.
There is, however, no reported death.
Paul Nutsugah, Regional Environmental Health & Sanitation Officer, who disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview, said the situation had been put under control.
He said poor sanitation remained one of the major causes of the increasing incidence of cholera and diarrhoeal in the region.
Mr Nutsugah urged residents to maintain the five principles of handwashing with soap which include washing of hands before meals, before the preparation of food, after using the toilet, before feeding a child and after cleaning a child.
He affirmed that the Environmental Health & Sanitation Directorate would intensify its public education on environmental, personal and food hygiene, infections prevention, as well as control practices.
In a related development, Coastal Television, a community-based television station in Cape Coast, together with the Ghana Health Service and other stakeholders, has embarked on emergency road shows to educate residents in the region on the disease.
The roadshow which presented videos, talks interaction with residents and interspersed with entertainment was aimed at educating the public on how to prevent the cholera disease and how to manage it when it occurs.
Gifty Nyomi, Chief Executive Officer of Coastal Television and Project Coordinator of the Programme, said the station decided to team up with stakeholders to intensify education on cholera.
She said Coastal TV as a community TV saw it as a responsibility and also shared in the pain of the community to educate the residents on simple sanitation practices to stay safe and healthy.
Mrs Nyomi explained that Abura was selected for the first emergency roadshow because the community had issues with sanitation and poor drainage systems while open defecation is also a challenge.
She said similar exercise would be organised in the five assemblies.
Mrs Nyomi mentioned that sanitation issues still continue to worsen and undermine the efforts of stakeholders to maintain clean environment.
GNA