Cholera epidemic in Accra

According to reports from news agency Reuters, 60 people in Ghana have died as a result of cholera, with 4,000 others hospitalised nationwide in what Ghana's health services are describing as an epidemic. The first patients presented in clinics in the central area of the country last September, and the disease soon spread to three other regions: Greater Accra, eastern and upper eastern regions. However the capital city of Accra has been worst affected.

To combat the spread of cholera across the country, the deputy health minister Rojo Mettle Nunoo announced that the government is introducing a comprehensive strategy including an education and media outreach programme to raise awareness about the transmission and prevention of the disease.

The minister said that over the years Ghana has become known as a cholera endemic country but that the interior ministry is working in collaboration with National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to tackle the problem. He blamed the recent outbreak on the early rains which have displaced thousands of people, and the widespread practice of urinating in communal water supplies. He denied the government was at fault for not responding adequately to the outbreak.

Joseph Amankwah of the Ghana Health Service said