The Ghana Health Service has detected a strain of Poliovirus (Polimylitis ) in Koforidua, the Eastern Regional Capital.
The polio virus was found recently in the polluted Nsukwao river which flows through both New Juaben North and South Municipality.
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The virus was detected through routine surveillance by a team of investigators from the Ghana Health Service (GHS). It was confirmed by the Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical and Research Centre (NMIMR), a Chief Nursing Officer at the Eastern Regional Health Directorate Evelyn Owusu Acheaw has revealed.
Polio is a contagious viral illness that in its most severe form causes nerve injury leading to paralysis, difficulty breathing and sometimes death particularly among children
Poliovirus can be transmitted through direct contact with someone infected with the virus or, less commonly, through contaminated food and water. Infected persons can spread the virus for weeks in their faeces.
Speaking at a mini durbar convened by the Koforidua Area of The Church of Pentecost on Saturday, February 29,2020, the Chief Nursing Officer at the Eastern Regional Health Directorate Evelyn Owusu Acheaw who represented the Regional Health Director, Dr Alberta Biritwum-Nyarko said due to the detection of the virus, the Municipalities will have an additional polio immunization exercise to ensure that residents particularly children are protected from the virus.
“The team came to the downstream of the Nsukwao river at the Central Tabernacle on Old Eatate road where sample of the water was fetched for laboratory test which confirmed the presence of poliovirus in the river….because of this both New Juaben North and South will have third round of polio immunization. All these diseases are caused by filth so we have to support the Church of Pentecost to make our communities clean”.
The Church of Pentecost –Koforidua Area climaxed the Phase II of the Church’s nationwide Environmental Care Campaign on the theme “My Environment; My Responsibility”, with a massive clean-up exercise in Koforidua and its environs Saturday after the durbar with support from waste management giant -Zoomlion Ghana Limited.
The Koforidua Area Head of the Church of Pentecost, Apostle Samuel Osei Asante reaffirmed the commitment of the Church of Pentecost to helping Ghana to achieve Sustainable Development Goal six, particularly on Sanitation.
He admonished Christians to refrain from littering the environment rather be good stewards by keeping it clean.
Apostle S.O Asante who is also an Executive Council Member of the Church appealed to state agencies and organizations to enforce Sanitation By-laws to help put in check conducts of recalcitrants citizens.
The Eastern Regional Director of Environmental Protection Agency,EPA,Felix Addo -Kyereh, said the environment plays key role in the survival of human on earth therefore continues pollution would completely make it inhabitable.
The week-long environmental Care Campaign saw District Pastors, Elders and Members of the Church in each District embarked on awareness creation and sensitization in Communities, schools, Clinics, markets, lorry stations, Churches, Mosques and on Radio, on the need to collectively help improve on sanitation in the country.
The Church will adopt a community to become a model of environmental care and quintessence of a cleanest community.
The Church of Pentecost, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility to help Ghana deal with the menace of Poor Sanitation which impact the economy with $290 million annual losses, instituted the Environmental Care Campaign as one of the community impact initiatives captured in the five-year vision policy statement of the Church dubbed Vision 2023 under the leadership of Apostle Eric Nyamekye, Chairman of the Church.
The implementation of the environmental Project which commenced in 2019 is in partnership with waste management giant-Zoomlion Ghana Limited.