The Obuasi Municipal Director of Health, Dr. Kwasi Amankwah, on Wednesday confirmed to Kwami Sefa Kayi on PeaceFM�s �Kokrokoo� that the strain which had been recorded in New Nsuta, a suburb of Obuasi in the Ashanti Region was indeed Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis or CSM.
Earlier investigations proved inconclusive on what strain of Meningitis had plagued the community which has so far infected fourteen (14) people with 5 deaths recorded.
The casualties include two females and three males.
Dr. Amankwah indicated that the disease takes several forms including �Viral, Fungi and even Bacterial Meningitis�. According to him, bacteria is the most deadly.
��the meningitis disease which takes many forms is treatable, Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) which is an air-borne disease is most feared because it is easily transferrable, fatal and spreads at an extremely fast pace�For someone to survive depends on whether the person reports to the hospital early or not and how strong the immune system of the individual is. It�s a communicable disease and if we don�t take care more people will die. It�s an air borne disease so you get it through close contact�� he added.
Meningitis is an infection that causes inflammation of the brain and spinal membrane. The disease is caused by bacteria or a virus and can be deadly if not treated promptly.
Symptoms are similar to the flu and include neck stiffness, headache, fever and vomiting.
Last year, there were reports that CSM had broken out in northern Ghana, killing about 27 people out of the 54 cases that had been reported.
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