The Ghana Health Service, GHS says eight persons have died from suspected Yellow Fever outbreak in the Savannah Region.
This follows interim laboratory results of an unusual disease from the region.
A statement from the Service said the disease was presumed to be Yellow Fever and that samples have been shipped for final confirmation outside the country.
The statement signed by Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, said tests for other Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers like Ebola, Lassa, Marburg and Zika were all negative.
The affected persons were nomads in selected communities in West and North Gonja of the Savannah region, who had never been vaccinated against Yellow Fever.
The GHS urged all persons from the Region who have fever, general weakness, headache, nausea and vomiting to immediately report to the nearest health facility. The Service encourages individuals who have never been vaccinated against Yellow Fever to do so.
Meanwhile, a team of experts from the Service, Center for Disease Control (CDC) Ghana, World Health Organization (WHO) Ghana, and the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) have been deployed to support the Savannah Region to investigate and institute appropriate control measures.
A person with Yellow Fever may have fever and jaundice in the early stages and later bleed from any of the body openings like the nose and mouth. One may contract Yellow Fever through the bite of the Aedes mosquito and prevention is mainly by taking the Yellow Fever vaccine or preventing the bite of a mosquito.
