Over 1.3 million people in Ashanti Region to be immunized against Yellow Fever
A day’s workshop to help selected journalists to better and accurately report on the Yellow Fever disease was on Wednesday held in Kumasi.
This comes ahead of the planned mass vaccination in three districts of the Region against the disease, fixed for November 22- 28.
The three districts are the Kumasi Metropolis, Atwima-Mponua and Adansi-South.
A total of 1,310,956 people aged from 10 and above have been targeted.
The World Health Organization (WHO), Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Government are sponsoring the programme.
Yellow Fever is an acute viral disease transmitted through the bite of Aedes Aegypti mosquito and is prevalent in tropical areas.
Dr Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe, Ashanti Regional Deputy Director of the Ghana Health Service in charge of Disease Surveillance, said manifestations of the disease are fever, headaches, muscle pain, fatigue, nausea and vomiting.
He noted that 15 per cent of those infected would normally develop complications and in extreme cases this might result in bleeding and kidney problems as well as jaundice and abdominal pains.
Half of these people die because there is no treatment for the disease.
Every year, about 200,000 cases of the disease are recorded worldwide of which 30,000 die.
Dr Asiedu-Bekoe said the disease could be tackled through immunization and appealed to all to respond well to the upcoming exercise.
Three cases had since the beginning of the year been reported in the Northern Region.
Source: GNA
i was one of de peoplf who want for the vaccination of H1N1 and hard so many reaction which nearly led me to death. This has made me not to take any vaccination that may come, i not the only one having that in mind. I have read much about this disease and seen dat it has no cure. The education about the disease very.very well and the side effect. If not people will patronise. Thank you