Residents of the Nanumba North Municipality of the Northern Region have been put on high alert over an outbreak of an ailment believed to be meningitis.
According to health authorities, over 30 of such cases have been recorded in the area in recent times.
Medical Superintendent of the Bimbilla Government Hospital, Dr Barhama Adam, said out of 30 suspected cases, 4 samples were taken and two came out positive.
He said the typical symptoms are neck pains with headache, fever, and general body pains.
He thus cautioned residents to report early to the hospital if they experience meningitis-like symptoms and to refrain from self-medication.
The doctor also urged community members to drink a lot of water.
“We are picking up some signals in the municipality about a strange ailment called meningitis. Usually, this is not the season for it, but we are beginning to pick it up, and we think that there is a need to alert members in the community. We have had about 30 suspected cases of meningitis of which we took 4 samples and out of the four, two came out positive.”
In another development, the Medical Superintendent called for collaboration between the Bimbilla Hospital and stakeholders in the municipality.
“We cannot work in an environment where the people do not feel to be part of the team, we may not feel secure working in the community.”
“Sometimes it looks as if there is a gap between us and the community, and when there is a gap, it creates room for misinformation. So I want to urge you that, anything you hear about the hospital, whether good or bad, please be quick to find out the right information from the right quarters to help address the challenge”.
The Medical Superintendent has just been transferred to the hospital.
As part of initiatives to help uplift the image of the facility and to build public trust, he promised to bring in specialists to conduct screening exercises and surgery for the residents.
He said such an initiative is going to be an annual event to help bolster the health of the people.
The screening starts today, Monday, the 24th of January to the 31st of January.
The process is absolutely free and all that is required is an active National Health Insurance card.
“The hospital intends to bring in some specialists from Accra, Kumasi, and Tamale to do some health screening and surgeries which will begin on the 24th of January to the 31st. We are therefore urging community members to visit the hospital beginning Monday, January 24, 2022.”
