Tema-Ghana, June 22, GNA – As part of efforts to lower the incidence of typhoid fever, particularly during rainy seasons, Mr. Rocky Tettedzie, Physician Assistant at Pleasant Medical Centre at Ashaiman Middle-East, has warned Ghanaians to adhere to good sanitation practices.
According to him, the risk of flooding and untreated garbage, which spreads diseases like typhoid through the environment, is enhanced during the rainy season.
This was stated by Mr. Tettedzie during the weekly “Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility! An effort of the Ghana News Agency aimed at encouraging health-related communication and creating a forum for the transmission of health information to impact individuals’ personal health decisions through better health literacy.
Dr. Tettedzie said insects acted as carriers for diseases that spread easily among a big population since they were most common during the rainy season.
The number of flies also rises during the wet seasons, so if there are more flies around and they can fly farther to the garbage dumps, bring more inside because more flies will land on exposed food.
He said that while some of these bacteria could be killed by the sun’s rays, other organisms prefer wet environments. There are some diseases that are only seen in areas with a cold environment.
Typhoid symptoms, according to the physician assistant, can include a persistent high fever, weakness, nausea, abdominal pain, decreased appetite, and others.
Typhoid can affect the liver and bones, cause high fevers, chronic disorders, and more, and cautioned that it might cause a number of consequences if not treated properly.
Because people have a variety of symptoms when they have the infections, he said, in addition to the primary therapy, which is administering antibiotics, supportive therapy is also required to manage any symptoms a patient experiences and restore normal body function.
Mr. Tettedzie urged Ghanaians to buy food from reputable vendors or stay away from street food, arguing that doing so would cut down on the consumption of shellfish and other unhealthy items.
He urged people to practice excellent food hygiene, which includes protecting food from flies, cleaning hands with soap after changing diapers, eating, using the restroom, washing their hands completely, and heating food sufficiently to kill any sickness that may have gotten into it.
Mr. Aaron Mensah, Operations Manager of Pleasant Medical Centre, called for proper management and disposal of hospital waste.
Mr. Francis Ameyibor, Regional Manager of Ghana News Agency in Tema, called for health vigilance, especially in what “we eat, drink, and source; we must be conscious of unhealthy lifestyles and their implications and avoid them.”
Mr. Ameyibor also cautioned against the rise of sedentary lifestyles and inactivity, which are associated with our current way of life: modes of transportation, working in a seated position, and other new ways of doing things, making the individual less active.
