The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has revealed that the Upper East region of Ghana has recorded the highest number of cases of elephantiasis, also known as lymphatic filariasis, in the country.
2,373 confirmed cases of elephantiasis, or about a third of all cases nationwide, have been reported in the area.
Desk officer for the Ghana Health Service’s neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) programme, Bright Alomatu is confident that despite the fact that elephantiasis is endemic in all 15 of the Upper East Region’s municipalities and districts, medical professionals have been able to stop its spread there.
According to Mr. Alomatu, there may be a number of reasons for the high number of cases in the Upper East region, including poor sanitation and hygiene practices that encourage mosquito breeding and the spread of the disease.
Speaking at a stakeholder sensitisation event on adopting and promoting measures to address issues facing disease patients in Bolgatanga, he said, “The risk is very high where we have transmission ongoing because the mosquitoes bite everybody. So once the parasite is in the system and the mosquitoes are picking and spreading, then the likelihood of you getting it is very high.”
According to Mr. Alomatu, health workers and volunteers have also received training across the entire country since 2016, and this has helped to stop the spread of the disease in 109 districts.
Elephantiasis was mapped in 1999, and only regions such as Ashanti, Ahafo, Volta and Oti were found to be non-endemic.” (use such as instead of like, and remove the comma before and
Of the 261 districts in the country, 116 were found to be endemic for the disease.
“We’ve trained 2,100 patients on how to manage their conditions so that they can see an improvement of the condition of the leg or whichever part is swollen, so that it will not swell further and they will not also suffer from acute inflammation,” he added.
The Ghana Health Service, American Leprosy Mission, and the Christian Blind Mission are collaborating to provide care and support for people living with elephantiasis in the Upper East region.
The purpose of the sensitization, according to Programme Manager for American Leprosy Mission, Mr Solomon Atinbire, was to empower some people to act as game changers and push for the inclusion of patients with elephantiasis cases in Ghana’s Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme.
“That would help them [patients] to get some money to register for health insurance coverage so that anytime they are taken ill, they can visit the health facilities for care”, he stated.
According to Mr. Atinbire, the decision to establish a committee in each district and municipality of the region to fight for the welfare of the patients with elephantiasis was made, because the condition of elephantiasis made patients vulnerable to participating in any economic activities or accessing healthcare services.
The Upper East Regional Deputy Health Director in Charge of Public Health, Dr. Josephat Nyuzaghl, adding his voice, stated that it is expected that the advocacy organisations will involve the assemblies in order for the patients to receive some of the disability funds of the assemblies.
Elephantiasis is a parasitic infection caused by thread-like worms transmitted through the bites of infected mosquitoes.
The infection can lead to swelling and thickening of the limbs and genitals, resulting in significant disfigurement and disability. It can also cause severe pain and discomfort, as well as secondary infections.
It affects body parts such as the legs, hands, breasts of women, penis, vulva, and scrotum, with the hands, legs, and scrotum being the most common in Ghana.
Source: The Independent Ghana| Diana Nutsugah