Ghana Records First Monkeypox Cases

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has confirmed five cases of the Monkeypox virus in the country.

The cases were confirmed in the Eastern, Great Accra and Western regions, the Director-General of the GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma- Aboagye said today at a press conference in Accra.

“So far since the outbreak in Europe occurred, we tested 12 suspected cases in Ghana since 24 May. Currently, we have confirmed five cases in three regions – Eastern, Western, and Greater Accra – this is where we discovered the five cases,” he said.

Dr. Kuma-Aboagye said no death has been recorded yet out of the five cases.

Monkeypox is a rare but potentially serious viral illness that can be transmitted from person to person through direct contact with body fluid or monkeypox lesions.

“One of the cases has been recorded in a Ghanaian who travelled to the US from Ghana, he might have picked it from here,” the GHS boss added.

Monkeypox endemic countries are: Benin, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana (identified in animals only), Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, and South Sudan.

By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri