The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has disclosed that the Volta Region has recorded an increase in rubella and measles cases.
According to the Volta Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Chrysantus Kubio, this is due to vaccine hesitancy in the region.
During a stakeholder meeting, Dr Kubio said several children within the targeted group were left unimmunized in mid-2024.
He stated that in the first half of 2024, 7,865 children in the Volta Region missed their third dose of the Penta vaccine, and 9,459 children were not immunized with the Measles/Rubella 2 vaccine.
“In recent times Ghana has recorded measles outbreaks in some of its districts which includes district in the Volta Region. Per data available, Rubella cases are also on the rise.
“It should be noted that the region has recorded eight (8) confirmed cases of measles this year, although below the epidemic threshold,” he said.
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In response, he said parents should make their children available for an upcoming mass vaccination.
“To halt the spread of these diseases, national mass campaigns will be organized in all the districts in Ghana, including the 16 regions in the Volta Region from 2nd October to 6th October 2024,” he said.
Like measles, Rubella, also known as German measles is a contagious viral infection that mostly affects children.
It is characterised by a distinctive red rash and spreads through direct contact with the saliva or mucus of an infected person.
A rubella infection is mild for most people but can cause death or birth defects in an unborn baby.