Ducie joins guinea worm-free communities

Bisikan (U/W), Nov. 30, GNA - Ducie, a village in the Wa East District which has for years been the second most endemic guinea worm infested community in the country with an annual average of 85 cases, has since July last year not recorded any case of the disease. This gives hope that the disease has been totally eradicated from that village. Ten cases have so far been recorded in the district. Mr Samuel Naah Yendor, District Guinea Worm Coordinator, said this at a durbar of chiefs and people of the Bisikan community organized by the Wa East District Directorate of the Ghana Health Service to educate them on the disease.

He said guinea worm had reduced in the last two years from 260 in 2005 to 64 cases in 2006 and ten cases as at November this year and this was a clear indication that it could be eradicated by 2009. Statistics showed that the district has also reduced its percentage contribution to the regional cases of the disease from 85 per cent in 2005 to about 50 per cent in 2007. He said he was optimistic that the district would not record any case of the worm in 2008

Mr Yendor attributed their success in fighting the worm to interventions such the abating of 91 water sources in order to kill the larvae that gives birth to the worm and the distribution of 11,047 cloth filters and 7,212 pipe filters to endemic communities in the district. He said the worm has been eradicated totally in the Loggu, Funsi, Yaala and Kundugu sub-districts with no community in these areas reporting any case since the start of the transmission season in September. 30 Nov 07