By Sualah Abdul-Wahab
Information from the Regional Health Directorate indicates that the death toll on meningitis in the region has risen from eight last month to ten while the number of suspected cases has also risen from 81 to 101.
The region falls under the meningitis belt in the northern part of Ghana.
The Directorate is therefore urging all to drink more water during this period and report immediately to health facilities anytime they experience symptoms and signs of meningitis.
They include unexplained headaches, neck stiffness, high fever, and vomiting among children. The rest are photophobic and high-temperature.
The Directorate advised people of the region to sleep in well-ventilated rooms, drink more water, use nose masks and avoid overcrowding.
Schools have also been advised to limit outdoor activities because of the excessive heat.
Meanwhile, some residents of Wa have described as unprecedented the scorchy nature of the sun in March this year.
They told GBC News that they have never experienced such heat in their lifetime in the region.
They told Sualah Abdul-Wahab that the heat may have been caused by climate change due to the excessive felling of trees and degrading of the environment.
Some of them who are Muslims said but that fasting being an obligation in Islam they would not fast because the heat is unbearable. Ibrahim Seidu and Kwabena Ilyasu said they are unable to engage in any activities during the day due to dehydration.
“When we break the fast we drink only water because we become too exhausted”, Mr Ilhyasu said.
In 2020 Upper West Region recorded 44 deaths through meningitis with over three hundred recorded cases. Already the Ghana Health Service has provided the region with vaccines for the treatment of meningitis.
