U/E: Over 100k children targeted for CSM vaccination

The Ghana Health Service has announced it will embark on a vaccination exercise this week to immunise some 134,917 children against the dreaded cerebrospinal meningitis (CSM) in the Upper East region.

This is the biggest target so far in many years in the region, intended for only children between the ages of one and four years. And it comes after the disease claimed eight lives among some 78 cases reported in the region in 2015 with several more cases recorded also early in 2016.

The anti-CSM campaign begins this Wednesday, July 20 and will end on Tuesday 26 July, this year. It is also expected to take place in the Northern and the Upper West regions at the same time.

The vaccines are expected to last for 10 years, implying that the children vaccinated this year will only be due for another vaccination in 2026.

“Our three regions (in northern Ghana) lie within what we call the meningitis belt. And meningitis has had very devastating effects on this country for the past hundred years. As a country, we would invest in our population more by preventing diseases rather than reacting to them. We had vaccinations for the population four years ago, but that means that those who were born after 2012 till now were left out.

“And to be able to improve the level of immunity against CSM in this region, we have to make sure that that part of the population is also immunised. Once they are immunised, then, we know at least we have a high level of immunity,” the Upper East Regional Director of Health, Dr. Kofi Issah, told journalists at a stakeholders’ forum in the regional capital, Bolgatanga.

Centres arranged for the exercise All health facilities and some popular spots across the region have been designated as centres for the exercise.

A cast of 145 teams, 435 volunteers, 90 supervisors and 145 health workers has been engaged to carry out the exercise, with at least 280 children expected to be reached per day within the vaccination period.

And because the campaign takes off a day before most schools will go on holidays, vaccination officials are very likely to spend most of the first day at basic schools where a majority of the targeted group is already enrolled. Whilst entreating the media to render the publicity the exercise deserves, the Upper East Regional Health Directorate is also urging families to take advantage of the opportunity by making their children available for the exercise.

“This vaccine is to protect your children to grow into healthy and responsible citizens. These children are our future. So, we are appealing to all parents, caregivers, guardians, chiefs, prominent leaders, if you have a child who is between 1 and 4 years of age, please, help to bring the child out. And after the vaccination, if you notice anything untoward, please, report,” Dr. Issah said.

The directorate also disclosed that provisions had been made to also vaccinate children coming from outside the region to stay after the exercise is over.

18-month-olds to be vaccinated against CSM from November The Ghana Health Service also has announced vaccination against CSM will be a regular service within the usual immunisation package for newborns. Children as old as 18 months in the region will be immunised against CSM, beginning from November, this year.

“In November, this year, we will be introducing it (CSM vaccination) into the schedule for immunisation. At 18 months, each child will be vaccinated against CSM. We know that these vaccines last for 10 years. And as these children grow, at least gradually we’ll be able to make sure that the disease is reduced to the barest minimum and wouldn’t become of public health concern to us in this country,” the Regional Health Director stated.

He added: “We know our poverty level here. And if you have such a very high poverty level and you have diseases and from time to time you have to react, you can imagine how much resources go into these things. So, to be able to save these resources and get our populations to go about their socio-economic lives effectively, we think that we have to embark on this preventive campaign in the three northern regions, specifically in the Upper East Region.”

Regional Minister whips up support for campaign Meanwhile, the Upper East Regional Minister, Albert Abongo, has asked Municipal and District Chief Executives, traditional authorities and assembly members among other notable figures across the region to help ensure that the anti-CSM campaign is successful.

Interacting with Starr News on the ever-present threat of CSM and the impending campaign, the Regional Minister said: “Everybody including community leaders, chiefs, assembly members, MDCEs would have to help spread the word wide to build our children’s immunity against CSM. We are not paying anything for it; so, as much as possible the word should reach wide. It’s a positive development and I will encourage everyone to join hands for the success of the campaign.”

The deadly scourge of CSM CSM has remained a familiar terror in northern Ghana for more than a century. This is because that part of the country falls within the CSM belt that runs from Senegal in West Africa to Ethiopia in East Africa. Until recent times, the disease hardly struck in southern Ghana.

Between 2012 and 2015, at least 760 cases of the disease were recorded in the Upper East Region. And, at least, 56 people lost their lives during that period.

CSM is an acute inflammation of the protective membranes that cover the brain and the spinal cord. The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria or other microorganisms.

The disease is considered a medical emergency because of the deadly threat it poses to the patient. The most common symptoms of the disease are headache and neck stiffness associated with fever, vomiting and inability to tolerate light and loud noises. The disease, if not treated quickly, can lead to such serious long-term consequences as deafness, epilepsy, hydrocephalus and cognitive defects. The ultimate consequence is sudden death.