Pneumococcal Meningitis kills 2 in Ashanti Region

Two people have died from Pneumococcal Meningitis in the Offinso Municipality in the Ashanti Region, weeks after it was first reported in the Brong Ahafo Region.

The Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Victor Bampoe who confirmed this to Citi News said they are investigating to ascertain whether it has any links to the outbreak in the Brong Ahafo Region.

He assured the public that there is no need for panic because “Meningitis is a sporadic thing that happens already. What the public health people are doing is that they are trying to find out whether this is related to the outbreak.”

“There were four cases in Offinso and two have died, ” he said adding that “all the districts have been put on alert and they are trying to make sure if it is part of the outbreak, then they are going into the communities to find more cases.”

The outbreak sarted last year in the Tain District of the Brong Ahafo region and later spread to Wenchi, Techiman, Bruohan, Kintampo, and Sene districts in the same region.

Bole in the Northern Region has also recorded some cases.

Over 30 deaths have so far been recorded since the beginning of the outbreak in the Northern and Brong Ahafo Regions.

The disease is caused by the inflammation of the productive membrane covering the brain and the spinal cord known.

The inflammation is usually caused by an infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and the spinal cord.

The Deputy Health Minister Dr Victor Bampoe last week told Citi News the total number of people affected was about 55.

However, new figures show that the figure has almost doubled.