Persons with a compromised immune system and at risk of contracting the Mpox disease have been identified to be the first to be administered with the vaccines when they arrive in the country.
The Director of Public Health at the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr. Franklyn Asiedu-Bekoe says processes are far advanced to get the vaccines after a scheduled meeting with officials of the WHO this week.
As of July 10, Ghana has recorded 170 cases of Mpox in over 50 districts of the 12 regions in the country.
The cases, according to health authorities have been centred mainly in specific regions.
The rate of increase in cases is reported to be down while cases remain mild with no admissions. So far, about 1,200 suspected cases have been recorded.
According to Dr. Franklyn Asiedu Bekoe, out of about 1,700 contacts traced from the confirmed cases, only 6 were infected.
‘‘As we have said, it’s mainly around Western Region, Western North and Greater Accra regions, but what is good for us is that the rate of increase is down and we are not getting very ill persons. Our approach is to detect the cases early so we are searching for the cases.
We have gotten about 1,200 suspected cases and 1,700 contacts traced and only 6 out of the contacts became cases. This is a national outbreak, so everybody should see it as that and protect him or herself,’’ he explained.
He further noted that the country has already identified its at-risk population awaiting the arrival of the Mpox vaccine.
‘‘We are working with WHO. We have made the request 2 weeks ago. We have been promised that we will meet this week and when we receive it, we will try and prioritize the at-risk population,’’ he said.