The disease monkeypox can be avoided by wearing a nasal mask and using hand sanitizer – Virologist

A virologist at the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR) has proposed strategies to prevent the monkeypox epidemic from spreading across the country.

The usage of a nose mask and hand sanitizer, according to Dr. Michael Owusu, is beneficial for the condition.

As a result, he urged Ghanaians to return to following these safety practices.

"Using hand sanitizer is critical, as is wearing a mask and avoiding bodily contact as much as possible."

What this means is that no country can currently escape it; all we have to do now is devise measures to control it and, potentially, sever the transmission cycle," he said in an interview with TV3.

Five cases of monkeypox have already been reported in Ghana.

They were discovered in the country's Eastern, Western, and Greater Accra areas.

At a news conference on Wednesday, June 8, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) acknowledged this.

One of the cases, according to Dr. Patrick Kumah-Aboagye, occurred in a Ghanaian who traveled to the United States from Ghana.

He went on to say that the cases were discovered after examining 12 suspected cases, one of which was reported from the Western Region.

"I'm sure we've had a lot of monkeypox debates on social media recently, and I believe the most popular one was from the Western Region."

That was negative; we tested and found it to be so.

"Since the outbreak began on May 24, 2022, we've tested 12 suspicious cases in Ghana." Five instances have been confirmed in three regions: Eastern, Western, and Greater Accra. "There have been no deaths in any of the cases," he said.