GHS announces oral cholera vaccination campaign nationwide to combat outbreak

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has announced a phased oral cholera vaccination campaign to combat the nationwide outbreak that has claimed 21 lives and infected about 196 people since October this year.

It targets 150,634 residents aged two years and above, excluding pregnant and breastfeeding women, across three hotspot sub-districts in the Awutu Senya East District; Akwelley, Kasoa North, and Odupong Kpehe.

At a press briefing in Accra on Friday, the Director-General of the GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, said the service through its partners, has procured 150,000 doses of the oral cholera vaccine to control the ongoing outbreak.

He described cholera as a “serious public health challenge” linked to poor sanitation and inadequate water access, emphasising that the vaccines were a critical intervention to limit a surge in cases.

According to the Director-General, the vaccination comes as a complement to already exiting measures such as good sanitation, access to potable water, and personal hygiene practices which helped to prevent cholera.

“It is a great relief today as we launch one of the most powerful tools in our arsenal to fight cholera the oral cholera vaccine. While this vaccine provides an additional approach to prevention and control, it must be combined with hygiene practices such as hand washing with soap and running water, eating freshly prepared hot meals, and drinking safe water,” he advised. 

Dr Kuma-Aboagye further assured the public of the vaccine’s safety, revealing that it will be administered as oral drops and closely monitored by officials of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) in order to ensure optimum safety standards.

The vaccination teams, he explained, will adopt multiple outreach strategies, including house-to-house visits, workplace outreach and mobile vaccination points at social events and religious gatherings. 

Relatedly, Dr Kuma-Aboagye disclosed that the roll out of the second dose of the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) will commence from December 1, 2024, to provide additional protection against poliomyelitis.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) Representative in Ghana, Dr Frank John Lule, disclosed that over 481,000 cholera cases have been reported globally this year, resulting in nearly 4,000 deaths.

He indicated that the African region is disproportionately affected, accounting for two-thirds of the cases, attributing the high numbers to climate-related challenges such as floods and inadequate sanitation. 

He assured the public of the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness, emphasising its proven success in similar outbreaks worldwide.

The Programme Manager of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), Dr Kwame Amponsah Akyianu, revealed that the outbreak, which began in August, has spread to the Greater Accra, Central, Eastern, and Western regions.

Despite its initial high fatality rates, he noted that enhanced care and management have reduced the nationwide case fatality rate to below 1 per cent and the coming on board of the cholera vaccines is expected to drastically reduce infection rate.

BY ABIGAIL ANNOH

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