Cholera outbreak in Ghana kills at least 67 since June -health authorities

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Cholera outbreak in Ghana kills at least 67 since June -health authorities

By Kwasi Kpodo ACCRA (Reuters) - Cholera has killed at least 67 people in Ghana since June and infected more than 5,000 others in an outbreak that highlights the health and sanitation challenges facing one of Africa's fastest-growing economies. The Ghana Health Service (GHS) said the outbreak was centred on impoverished communities in urban areas in the south that lack adequate toilets, though there were also a few cases in rural parts of the north of the West African state. Some 54 people have died in or near the capital Accra, and around 300 people are now being infected daily with the highly contagious disease, putting pressure on local health facilities, said Linda Van-Otoo, GHS director for Greater Accra. "It is not only a health issue, there is a big element of environmental sanitation," she said, adding that local authorities were attempting to tackle the root causes of the disease as well as treat the influx of patients.

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