Meningitis death toll now 15

The latest location to be hit by the deadly pneumococcal meningitis is Bole in the Northern Region where 5 persons have been reported dead out of 12 cases.

Prior to this, nine other persons had been reported dead in the Brong Ahafo region while the Ashanti region had lost one person due to the infection, which causes swelling of the protective tissue around the brain.

District Director of Health Services Chief Bumawura Ewuntomash Mahama has called for a quick implementation of measures to prevent more cases, describing the situation as an “epidemic”.

“Our epidemic management teams are meeting; all the sub district teams have set up educational teams and are moving around in all communities to educate residents about the disease,” he disclosed in a brief to the deputy Minister of Health.

Meanwhile the District Health Director for Tain in the Brong Ahafo region, Dr. Michael Rockson Adjei, has cautioned that the disease is contagious and “kills faster compared to Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM)”.

He said health officials have embarked on sensitisation programmes and advised members of the public to adhere to preventive measures as the current Harmattan period poses a lot of health risks.

“We advise people to take in more fluids because we are in Harmattan, desist from smoking, eat healthy leaves and, as much as possible, you have to apply cough etiquette. You don’t cough openly because of airborne bacterial and viral infections, which are very common.”