The Ashanti Region has recorded two cases of the Mpox disease. A reliable source at the Ashanti Regional Directorate of Health, who confirmed this to GBC News however did not give further information.
In an interview earlier with Correspondent Nicholas Osei-Wusu in Kumasi, a Public Health Nurse at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Mavis Amoaning, disclosed that one of the cases was confirmed exactly a week ago at the Tafo Government Hospital in the Tafo Municipality, and patient is under serious care.
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According to WHO, Key facts of Mpox are:
- Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is a viral illness caused by the monkeypox virus, a species of the genus Orthopoxvirus. There are two distinct clades of the virus: clade I (with subclades Ia and Ib) and clade II (with subclades IIa and IIb). In 2022–2023 a global outbreak of mpox was caused by the clade IIb strain.
- Mpox continues to be a threat today, and an upsurge of cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other countries caused by clades Ia and Ib has raised concern.
- There are vaccines for mpox. Vaccination should be considered along with other public health interventions.
- Common symptoms of mpox are a skin rash or mucosal lesions which can last 2–4 weeks accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes.
- Mpox can be transmitted through close contact with someone who has mpox, with contaminated materials, or with infected animals. During pregnancy, the virus may be passed to the fetus, or to the newborn during or after birth.
- Mpox is treated with supportive care for symptoms such as pain and fever, with close attention to nutrition, hydration, skin care, prevention of secondary infections and treatment of co-infections, including HIV where present.
