Dormaa Health Directorate launches newsletter on disease surveillance
The Dormaa Central Municipal Health Directorate has launched a newsletter on disease surveillance to provide data on diseases, events and situational report on public health.
The four-page quarterly newsletter “Municipal Watch”, would in addition, disseminate information on all surveillance activities to the appropriate quarters for prevention and control.
The newsletter, the first of its kind in the health sector in the Brong-Ahafo Region, would publish reports, analysis and interpretation of data on communicable diseases including HIV and AIDS, Buruli Ulcer, Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP), Influenza, Filariasis and Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM).
Ms Florence Iddrisah, Dormaa Central Municipal Director of Health, launching the newsletter at a Municipal Health Management Committee meeting at Dormaa-Ahenkro, said even though surveillance activities had been on-going in the Municipality reports on them had not been widely circulated.
She said if the objective of surveillance on communicable diseases was to detect, prevent and control, then the system should be community-based, participatory and closely integrated to ensure that no gaps were left for any such diseases to hide and flourish.
“Our directorate believes that healthy communities begin with effective surveillance of diseases and events that occur within them and what immediate steps were necessary to address them,” Ms Iddrisah added.
Ms Iddrisah pointed out that constant and intensive surveillance, coupled with regular publication of data on findings, would go a long way to educate communities on identification, mode of transmission and preventive measures for any communicable diseases detected.
She said until 2010, communities within the Municipality perceived zero cases for Buruli Ulcer but a search conducted towards the end of the year revealed 29 cases out of which 26 were confirmed positive by the Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research at the University of Ghana, Legon.
In addition, 49 Buruli Ulcer cases were detected in the Municipality in 2011 with 12 confirmed and 47 cases in 2012 with six confirmed.
Ms Iddrisah explained that section of the newsletter would be reserved for public education to provide periodic information on communicable and other diseases particularly for schools, identifiable organisations and institutions.
She noted that good health was the basis for life and growth and therefore urged opinion leaders in communities, religious organisations, non-governmental organisations, youth groups and civil society to embrace and participate in programmes and projects designed to inject quality into health care delivery.
Ms Iddrisah said the next edition would concentrate on “Epidemiology-Prevalence, Signs, Symptoms and Diagnosis”.
She expressed appreciation to Dormaa FM and Gifts FM both local radio stations in Dormaa-Ahenkro for supporting the Directorate’s surveillance and other programmes and commended Map International and Rotary International, both NGOs, for their immense contribution to Buruli Ulcer progammes in the Municipality.
Source: GNA