THE Upper West Region, which recorded the first outbreak of Cerebro Spinal Meningitis (CSM) this year, has finally received its share of the W135 vaccine from the World Health Organisation (WHO) to counter the W135 strain of the disease.
A team of personnel from the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the Ghana Health Service (GHS), led by the Deputy National NADMO Co-ordinator, Mr Prud K. Abonie, presented the vaccine to the Upper West Regional Minister at a brief ceremony at the Wa airstrip.
Receiving the vaccine, as well as vaccination health cards and syringes, the Regional Minister, Mr Mahmud Khalid, expressed appreciation to the government and the WHO for the rapid response to the plight of the people of the region.
He was hopeful that the vaccine would help mitigate the spread of the disease, especially in the Jirapa area, which he described as a CSM zone.
Mr Khalid advised the people not to panic but remain calm, since CSM was not a new disease in the area.
For his part, the Upper West Regional Director of Health, Dr Alexis Nang Beifubah, was happy that the vaccine had arrived.
He indicated that the vaccine would reach wherever it was needed but cautioned that it would be irresponsible and unwise on the part of people to be moving from one district to another for them to be vaccinated.
Meanwhile, the trend of the spread of the CSM in the region has started declining.
In the Jirapa District, which was declared an epidemic zone, for instance, the number of cases which rose to about 30 in the seventh week of the outbreak has fallen to 10 as of yesterday, while Lambussie, Sissala East, West, as well as Wa East, have the least number of cases recorded.
Cases in the Wa municipality have stabilised, with those in the Nadowli District falling from four to zero.
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