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Ghana

Meningitis outbreak claims 10 lives in Ghana

Accra, Ghana (PANA) - An outbreak of Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis (CSM) in the Ashanti Region of Ghana has claimed 10 lives, medical and political officials confirmed on Friday.

They said the outbreak of the disease had been confirmed at Yaw Bronya, a farming community near Ofoase in Asante Akim-South District.

Nine of the deceased, all of whom died within two weeks, have been buried while the body of the 10th person has been conveyed to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi for autopsy.

Three patients have also been admitted to a hospital.

The high death rate has been attributed to the late arrival of victims to health centres.

Medical and political officials are educating the people to discard the belief that the outbreak of the disease is the result of the wrath of a god, which has been offended.

A combined team of health experts from the Regional Health Directorate of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has been dispatched to complement the effort of the District Directorate to stem the outbreak.

Dr Ahmed Habib, a medical officer, said the CSM bacteria were commonly found in the meningitis belt in the three northern regions, suggesting that it could have been imported into the area, which is a settler community.

He said the Health Directorate had scheduled a mass immunization exercise in the community, having identified the cause of the outbreak.

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