<<Print>>

Cholera and HIV are considered to be a deadly pandemic to human lives across the world with the World Health Organization (WHO) combating measures to control and prevent the spread of these two deadly pandemics across the world.

The metro health director of Sekondi -Takoradi Joyce Bagina Sutherland educated the Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly during the second ordinary meeting on Cholera and HIV and the need for its prevention.

Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with vibrio cholerae bacterium.

Between 2008 to 2012, 2.9 million cases occurred annually in 69 cholera endemic countries with 95,000 deaths, 60% from sub Saharan Africa and 29% from south East Asia. Ghana has had outbreaks almost every 5 years since 1970. In 2014 a total of 28,975 cases with 243 deaths were reported in Ghana with CFR of 0.8%.

In 2014 and 2015, Western Region reported 1,165 cases of cholera with 15 deaths (CFR of 1.3). Sekondi Takoradi reported the highest number of cases of 43.9%, the total number of cases recorded in Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly were 502 and 7 deaths.

Outbreaks are often caused by 01 and 0139 subtypes and an incubation period of 2 hours to 5 days. Its signs and symptoms includes acute watery diarrhea with severe dehydration and circulatory collapse.

Human immune deficiency virus or HIV is a virus that attacks and progressively destroys the body’s immune system of defense mechanism.

The virus is found in high significant concentrations in body fluids like blood, semen, breast milk and vaginal fluids on the other hand has been found in very low insignificant concentrations in urine, tears and saliva. It is estimated that blood related transmissions accounts for about 15%, mother to child transmission also accounts for about 15% whilst sexual transmissions accounts for majority of about 80%.

The global 90-90-90 campaign fast track targets are aligned to the SDG’s and to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. Ghana has launched a one year campaign to achieve the first 90 fast track in March 2016. The objective of the campaign is to increase uptake of HIV testing services (HTS) through vigorous awareness creation and demand generation from March 2016 to February 2017 and to test 90% of people for HIV over one year period and through behavourial approaches for HIV prevention like abstinence, being faithful to sexual partners, condom use consistently and correctly and biomedical approaches

Madam Joyce Bagina Sutherland said by way of controlling and preventing cholera and HIV there is the need to utilize public gatherings to educate the public and also organize community level campaigns like mobile HTS and HTS integrated into OPD. There should also be a monitoring campaigns and report and the mobilization of students and staff and the administrative support for HTS.

She made recommendations on the capacity building of health staff on surveillance with emphasis on filling of case based forms, filled investigation of all suspected cholera and HIV cases with complete filling of cased based forms which should be reviewed daily and also an investigation of communities with high number of cases to identify and control environmental risk factors.