Ghana has not currently recorded a case of Monkeypox, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has said.
This comes after intense online speculations that the first case of Monkeypox has been recorded in Ahanta West, in the Western Region of Ghana, with the picture of the supposed victim going viral on Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp.
“Ghana Health Service through its surveillance system has not recorded any confirmed case of Monkeypox in the country,” a statement from the GHS assured.
According to the government health agency, an individual with blisters reported to a facility in Ahanta West and the initial assessment is not suggestive of Monkeypox – however further investigations are underway.
The online discussions about a confirmed case of Monkeypox in Ghana started after a Twitter user first shared the now-viral picture with the caption – “Ahanta West records the first case of suspected monkeypox?” – which was published as a news article by a popular website – 3News.com.
A screenshot of the viral picture shared on Twitter
A Facebook post by 3News.com
The viral picture has since been mischaracterised by other social media users who are passing it around as evidence of a confirmed case of Monkeypox in Ghana.
A screenshot of the viral picture shared on Twitter
A screenshot of the viral picture shared on Twitter
“The Western region has not recorded any case of Monkeypox,” the Regional Director of Health Service in the Western region, Dr Yaw Ofori Yeboah has said.
A statement from the GHS regional health directorate
A multi-country Monkeypox outbreak in non-endemic countries is generating uneasiness around the world and fueling speculations about the disease.
Between December 15, 2021, to May 1, 2022, Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria have recorded cases of Monkeypox in Africa.
Cases of monkeypox in endemic countries between 15 December 2021 to 1 May 2022
Other countries including Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United State of America have also recorded cases of the disease.
Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms very similar to those seen in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe. The name monkeypox originates from the initial discovery of the virus in monkeys in a Danish laboratory in 1958.
