Nkwanta South records drop in vendors with hepatitis B, other ailments

• Posted on September 6, 2018
• by Ellsamwise King
• Comment

Nkwanta South in the Volta Region has witnessed a reduction in cases of communicable diseases such as typhoid and hepatitis B among food vendors in the area, according to the Municipal Health Office.

The Municipal Environmental Health Officer of Nkwanta South, Cynthia Sekyere, said hitherto, the area could record about 600 vendors infected by the virus.

She said typhoid fever was noted in just 79 out of the total number of vendors infected.

A recent food screening exercise conducted by Don More Medical Centre revealed that out of a total number of 1,676 vendors in the municipality, 173 were suffering from hepatitis B.

Cynthia Sekyere said this represents 9 percent of the total number, and an indication of a drastic reduction in such cases.

“If we look at the implications, it means it is better than four years back that we started food screening. At the time, we could record as much as 678”.

Typhoid, which is commonly spread through contaminated foods and improper hygiene, has been reduced through public educational messages on hand-washing with soap, lemon and ash, and campaign against open defecation have helped change people’s attitudes towards environmental sanitation.

“Educational messages on hand-washing at critical times such after visiting the latrines, before eating, after changing babies’ diapers, before cooking as well as after attending social gatherings have impacted positively to the findings that we have seen among food vendors in the municipality,” she said.

She spoke to Citi News during a tour by the team from World Vision, an NGO spearheading Water Sanitation and Health (WASH) campaign in the area to access the impacts of the public sensitization.