Malaria cases up in Kumasi

Story: George Ernest Asare, Kumasi
March 12, 2008
Laboratory examinations conducted on a section of residents in the Kumasi metropolis who sought medical treatment in the various hospitals in the metropolis since 2005 indicated that as many as 892,801 of them had malarial parasites in their blood stream.
The Kumasi Metropolitan Director of Health, Dr Joseph Oduro, who made this known to the Daily Graphic, said malarial cases had always topped hospital attendance among patients in the metropolis in the past three years.
He said in 2005 a total of 333,307 residents were diagnosed but the number reduced to 242,773 in 2006.
He said last year, malarial cases at the various health institutions jumped to 316,721 to top hospital attendance among the 10 top reported diseases in the metropolis for the third consecutive year .
He said apart from malarial cases, cold or cough had also taken a centre stage in hospital attendance among residents in the metropolis with skin diseases also creating a lot of problems for residents and undermining productivity and revenue generation.
Dr Oduro said in 2006, as many as 59,442 residents were diagnosed to be suffering from cough and in 2007, the number of cases reported at the health institutions increased to 73,229.
He said skin diseases also shot from 31,434 in 2006 to 40,417 in 2007.
He attributed the increase in malarial, cough and skin diseases in the metropolis to the prevailing unhygienic environment.
He said indiscriminate disposal of solid and liquid waste into gutters, streams and other public places had always created heath hazards among residents, but little or no attempt was being made to sensitise residents to change from such negative attitudes.
Dr Oduro said diseases such as malaria, cold and skin diseases could also spread when there was filth, and the environment was also polluted, “so the need to create a healthy environment will go a long way to bring these diseases under total control”.
He said the increase in such diseases undermined income generation because apart from spending a lot of time on their treatment, which was very costly, it prevented them from engaging in any productive ventures to generate income to support themselves and their dependants.
Dr Oduro, therefore, stressed the importance for residents to keep their environment clean to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes and other parasites from attacking them.
He said by keeping the environment clean, the atmosphere would also not be polluted, and that would go a long way to improve the health of residents.
Other reported cases in Kumasi included diarrhoea, acute urinary tract infections, hypertension, rheumatic and occupational injuries. He, therefore, urged residents to keep healthy lifestyles and a clean environment to reduce the spread of diseases in the metropolis.