By Newswatchgh.com Editorial Team
Some Health Professionals in Ghana have described as worrying the late reporting or a failure to report to health facilities of cases of Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) especially because it lacks the needed national attention due to the outbreak of COVID19.
“Similar attention being given to the fight against COVID-19 be accorded to the Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) outbreak that has hit the Upper West Region with 258 infected cases and about 40 deaths giving a case fatality rate of 15.4 percent,” said Dr. Frederick Mawuli Agbemafoh, the Deputy Medical Manager at the Cocoa Clinic at Sefwi-Debiso in the North West Region of Ghana.
In an interview with Newswatchgh.com, he said because of its potentially fatal nature, CSM requires early reporting of symptoms, early case detection and early initiation of treatment and the appropriate antibiotics must be initiated as soon as possible.
He lamented that “all national efforts and resources are now directed towards the novel viral pneumonia to the neglect of Meningitis whose case fatality far exceeds that of COVID19.”
Dr. Agbemafoh said “As governments the world over, and Ghana in particular channel their efforts and resources towards fighting this COVID-19 pandemic, there is an old and seemingly well-known Cerebrospinal meningitis, which now lacks the needed attention, claiming precious lives in Ghana, particularly lives of our brothers and sister and their children in the northern half of the country.”
He said “Whilst COVID-19 is caused by a virus, CSM or meningitis can be caused by different pathogens including viruses, bacteria and fungi but bacterial caused meningitis is responsible for the highest global burden and mortality.”
Dr. Agbemafoh, noted that both COVID-19 and CSM are transmitted by droplet infection, meaning when an infected person sheds the pathogen in saliva or throat and nasal secretions through a cough or a sneeze respectively, the aerosolized pathogen can be spread airborne or from touching a surface with the droplet and infecting oneself through touching the eyes, mouth or nostrils.
“COVID-19 symptoms are mostly respiratory in nature such as sore throat, dry cough, unexplained loss of taste (ageusia) and smell (anosmia) and shortness of breath. Fever and muscle aches are two other symptoms,” he added.
He revealed that “COVID-19 patients may be asymptomatic, with ninety-five (95%) percent presenting with mild disease and some five (5%) percent requiring intensive care and fatality rate is only about some 5.9% while Meningitis on the other hand has a 50 percent mortality rate if not treated and may leave serious permanent brain damage (in 10% to 20% of cases) if treatment is delayed.”
“As a matter of urgency, there is a call relevant stakeholders to action.
The Ministry of Health must intensify efforts in surveillance, laboratory case detection, case management and public education, he noted, saying that “this can be done through early health alerts to health facilities in the meningitis belt, line listing of suspected cases and monitoring of alert and epidemic thresholds.”
Adding, he proposed that “there should be an immediate provision of laboratory reagents to the regions, especially affected regions, free laboratory testing of all samples and treatment of cases at all health facilities free of charge.”
“There should be orientation of all health staffs, orientation of community based surveillance volunteers, and the training of health staffs on case management and case definitions,” he stated.
Dr. Agbemafoh also recommended that “there should be an immediate expansion of public education in the health facilities and in the communities taking advantage of the chiefs, opinion leaders, youth leaders, community radio and or community information centers and the deployment of information vans.”
“The Ministry of Health through the Ghana Health Service as a matter of urgency should make stockpile of drugs available including relevant antibiotics, intravenous fluids or infusions, make vaccines available and support the districts in the affected regions with funding by instructing the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to give priority in the reimbursement of insurance claims to the Upper West region which is now stricken with the burden of COVID19 and Meningitis,” he averred.
He advised the people in the meningitis belt especially the Upper West Region to observe spatial distancing particularly avoiding persons sneezing and coughing and wash their hands as often as possible under running water or use alcohol-base sanitizers, same instructions for the prevention of COVID-19.
He also encouraged them to drink a lot of water to keep their throat moist at all times, keep their windows open to improve ventilation and ultimately, report to the nearest health facility early with symptoms of fever, headache and pain in the neck.
On her part, Dr. Diana Abobi-Kanbigs of Ghana’s Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, also said that “Since CSM is an acute inflammation of the meninges (the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord) caused commonly by bacteria Neisseria meningitis, people must be educated on condition and encouraged to report early to the nearest health facility for early treatment.
She enumerated some common symptoms the people should be looking out for including severe headaches, fever, neck stiffness, vomiting, nausea, and photophobia, lamenting that people with CSM systems were not reporting early to the health facility especially in this era of COVID-19 since the health facilities are high risk places.
Maintaining that early treatment saves lives, Dr. Abobi-Kanbigs, who is a member of the Catholic Health Professionals Guild of the Accra Archdiocese, appealed to the people of areas where the CSM is rampant especially in the arid region of the North to report early to the hospital “once they start experiencing the following symptoms; severe headaches, neck stiffness, vomiting, fever, and avoid overcrowding.”
However, she noted that “We are all concentrating on fighting the current coronavirus pandemic, so there is the tendency not to pay much attention to other conditions.”
CSM is an acute inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and the spinal cord. This condition is classified as a medical emergency. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) about 10 -15 % of patients diagnosed with CSM die.
