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Mr Daniel Kwame Owusu Amponsah, the Dormaa Central Municipal Disease Control Officer has advised Ghanaians to limit the consumption of bush meat to avoid Monkey pox infections.

He said it was advisable and obligatory for bush meat consumers to carry out vital checks to trace and identify the source of bush meat before consumption.

Mr Amponsah was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Dormaa-Ahenkro in the Dormaa Central Municipality of the Bono Region.

He said “the disease is zoonotic and highly transmissible mutating from human to human after transmission from animals such as monkeys and others”.

Mr Amponsah encouraged hunters who might come across carcasses of such animals to report to the Health Directorate or the Veterinary Services Department for investigations to be conducted on them for their own health and safety of the public.

He said as part of efforts to create awareness and to avert a possible outbreak of the disease in the Municipality, public education had been intensified through radio discussions, and visitations to churches and mosques.

“We have held meetings and training for health professionals including doctors, nurses, physician assistants and laboratory staff across the Municipality to enable them to detect, respond and effectively manage the disease in case of an outbreak”, Mr. Amponsah said.

He said outreaches would be held for inhabitants of communities on the routes to the border towns and the border towns such as Gonokrom and Kofibadukrom to raise awareness about the disease.

Mr Amponsah hinted of a plan by the Directorate to hold a meeting with traditional rulers, opinion leaders and Assembly Members at Duasidan, a community with a monkey sanctuary to sensitise residents about the disease.

He advised the public to observe good hygienic practices and COVID-19 protocols - keeping a distance, avoiding handshaking, hand washing with soap under running water and wearing of nose mask as it can be contracted through vomiting and sweating.