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The Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH) has cautioned Ghanaians to desist from kissing in order to avoid contracting meningitis which has recently hit the country, with reported cases of 93 deaths.

According to the Eastern regional chapter of the PSGH, meningitis can easily be transferred from an infected person in close contact to another person through coughing, sneezing, kissing as well as in dry and dusty conditions, particularly during the harmattan season. Regional Chairman of the PSGH, Silas Agyekum, made these known when he was addressing students of Ghana Senior High School (GHANASS) in the Eastern regional capital, Koforidua, as part of their outreach programme on meningitis infection in Ghana dubbed ‘Pharmacists For Saving Lives’. M

r Agyekum disclosed that meningitis is a serious disease which affects the sheaths covering the brain and spinal cord, and, therefore must be treated early to avoid severe complications and death. Symptoms of meningitis, he mentioned, include fever, headache, neck pain, neck stiffness, convulsions, vomiting, sudden unexplained death and bulging of the anterior fontanelle in children. He, however, cautioned the public to desist from seeking self-medications when they detect the symptoms and rather report to the nearest heath facility for free treatment.

Meanwhile, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has declared meningitis an epidemic in the Jaman North District of the Brong Ahafo Region. Statistics shows that a total of 548 people have been infected with the deadly disease. The disease has so far claimed 93 lives from the latest outbreak.