Rising Neurological Symptoms: Nurse links cases to illegal mining chemical exposure

A young nurse has urged people whose relatives or friends are involved in illegal mining, widely known as “galamsey”, to encourage them to stop, citing what she described as a growing number of patients presenting with neurological symptoms at the facility she works.

In a viral video sighted by GhanaWeb on September 29, 2026, the unidentified nurse said several patients involved in “galamsey” were experiencing symptoms associated with cerebellar ataxia, a neurological condition that affects balance, coordination and control of movement.

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She said the patients had a history of working at “galamsey” sites and suggested that exposure to chemicals used during illegal mining could be contributing to their condition.

“If you have a relative or friend involved in ‘galamsey’, encourage them to stop because there are rampant cases of cerebellar ataxia among some patients and from their history they all work on ‘galamsey’ sites because of the chemicals they use. These illegal miners inhale the chemicals and it has affected their cerebellum,” she said.

The nurse described the condition as incurable and said the number of patients presenting with similar symptoms at the facility was becoming a concern.

“When they come to the facility, they experience spasms,” she added.

What is Cerebellar ataxia

Cerebellar ataxia refers to impaired coordination caused by dysfunction or damage involving the cerebellum, a part of the brain that helps control balance and coordinated movement.

Symptoms can include tremors, unsteady walking, poor coordination, slurred speech and difficulty carrying out precise movements.

In some cases, people may also experience involuntary muscle movements or spasms.

See the video below:

“If you have a relative or friend involved in galamsey, encourage them to stop because there is a disease called cerebellar ataxia which is being contracted from galamsey sites. It is incurable, and the cases are becoming too many, with many people coming to our hospital with the… pic.twitter.com/2XG0TGQ057

— we love ghana (@weloveghana042) September 29, 2026