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4 major health alerts in 2016

First it was meningitis and then Zika

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In 2014 it was Cholera and Ebola scare in Ghana. While hundreds of lives were lost to Cholera outbreak Ghana was on tenterhooks praying and hoping that no case of Ebola was recorded.  2015 was not that scary and then we come to 2016 another year of health scares here in Ghana and around the world. First it was :

Pneumococcal Meningitis

Meningitis is an inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord (meninges). Causes include bacterial, viral, parasites and even chemical.

The out break  infected hundreds of people and likked dozens across the country. The outbreak started in December 2015 in the Brong Ahafo region. By January 2016 it had been declared as an epidemic. Over 90 people died before it was brought under control

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Zika Virus

The was a major scare in South America and and the United States too. Zika has been linked to neurological disorders including babies being born with small brains. Brazil was the country most affected by this outbreak. Thousands of babies were born with brain damages and other deformities linked to Zika The first case of Zika in Europe was recorded in Spain. In May 2016 the WHO issued an alert  that the Zika virus strain responsible for the outbreaks in Brazil had been detected in Africa for the first time. In Ghana and alert was issued but no case of Zika was recorded in 2016.

Cholera

Cholera was at its worst in 2014. It threatened to hit again when over 250 cases were recorded in the Central region alone . Fortunately  no death was recorded.

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Dengue Fever

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) in November 2016 issued an emergency health alert following the outbreak of Dengue fever in Burkina Faso. Reports indicated that 20 people had died of Dengue fever in Burkina Faso.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection. The infection causes flu-like illness, and occasionally develops into a potentially lethal complication called severe dengue.

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