Health Minister urges Ghanaians to take personal hygiene serious

Dr Kweku Agyemang Mensah, the Minister of Health, has appealed to Ghanaians, especially residents of La, Teshie and Nungua to take their personal hygiene into consideration to help curtail the cholera outbreak.

Dr Agyemang Mensah said it was only when people took their sanitation issues serious that the cholera epidemic would be eradicated.

The minister said this when he together with his Deputy, the Greater Accra Regional Minister and the Deputy Minister of Local Government visited the La General Hospital.

He said bye-laws on improper waste disposal and defecating in gutters should be implemented.

Mr Philip Afeti Kortor, Senior Health Service Administrator of the Hospital, said the facility had recorded 790 cholera cases since July 9, with nine deaths and that the outbreak was on the rise.

He said most of the patients brought to the hospital are men and the rest are women and children.

Mr Korto said due to the increasing number of cases each day there was the need for more gloves, boots and some consumables.

Dr Linda Van-Otoo, the Greater Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service said 2014 had recorded 5,000 cholera cases with 45 deaths and Greater Accra alone recorded half of the number.