Common Diseases
found in Ghana
Proof of an international immunization certificate is required upon entering
Ghana. A Yellow Fever vaccine is not valid until ten days after your vaccination
and lasts up to ten years. It is the only required 'shot' and possibly the
least common sickness.
Malaria causes the greatest concern and threat to travelers in tropical parts
of Africa. It is transmitted through the anopheles mosquito which comes
out from dusk till dawn and breeds in still water. The first symptoms
include diarrhea, fever, and headache.
The most logical prevention is simple, wear long pants and long sleeves as
the evening approaches, especially at the beach. Secondly, we suggest
taking the bitter, bitter Nim tea once a week. This tree is just about
everywhere in Ghana and acts as an anti-bacterial agent for the liver, where the
malaria parasite takes host. Thirdly, one can get a prescription for
Lariam or choroquine. Two weeks prior to your trip you must start taking the
pill and up to 2 weeks after you return. This is probably the most common
route, but it should be noted, due to the active agents in these drugs
many people have suffered terrible side effects.
We have tried and tested all forms of cures for malaria. Our greatest
success was with radiopathic treatment. Presently we are only aware
of one doctor in Ghana employing this revolutionary means of curing, not only
malaria, but just about all other diseases as well. His name is Dr.
Gregory Lugu-Zuri, 021-315-553 or 021-315-472.
Artesunate is also an excellent cure for malaria. It is a Chinese pill,
some say it is herbal, but it reads like a drug, nonetheless, if taken from the
onset of symptoms it works well to bring down the fever and minimize the overall
effects.
The most common remedy is to go to the doctor and receive drips of quinine.
Again, terrible side affects are associated.
click here for greater detail
Travelers' diarrhoea is most common with persons unaccustomed to tropical
travel, though it can occur to the most seasoned. It results from feeces
getting on your food and into your mouth. It can also be transmitted from
contaminated water.
The best prevention is to insure the cleanliness of the food you
intake. When taking a meal from a restaurant, try your best to get
it hot off the stove and DO NOT buy food off the streets. When buying
fruits, peel them yourself (their knives are not usually hygeinic) and avoid
eating raw foods until you have had the chance to properly wash them, preferably
in salt water. Also, be sure to buy bottled water, preferably 'Voltic'.
The worst part of diarrhoea is dehydration, to the most important part of
treatment is to take in plenty water. Sachets of oral rehydration give the
perfect biochemical mix, but any dilute mixture of sugar and salt in water will
do.
When someone with Bilharzia, a.K.a. schistosomiasis, excretes into fresh
water (lakes, ponds), the eggs hatch and swim off to find a pond snail to
infest. The worm grows inside the snail to emerge as acercariae,
barely visible to the naked eye, but able to penetrate human or animal
skin. People are susceptible when swim or bathe in infested water.
"The snalils which harbour bilharzia are a centimetre or more long and
live in still or slow-moving fresh water which is well oxygenated and contains
edible vegetation (water-weed, reeds). The risk is greatest where
villagers use the water. Wading in slow-moving reed-fringed water near a
village thus carries a very high risk of acquiring bilharzia, while swimming in
a rocky pool below a waterfall in a forest carries a negligible risk."
"Only a proportion of those cercariae which penetrate the
skin survive to cause disease. The absence of early symptoms does not
necessarily mean there is no infection, but symptoms usually appear two or more
weeks after penetration: typically a fever and wheezy cough. A blood test,
which should be taken six weeks or more after likely exposure, will determine
whether or not parasites are going to cause problems. Treatment is
generally effective, but failures occur and re-treatment is often necessary for
reasons that aren't fully overstood, but which may imply some drug
resistance. Since bilharzia can be nasty illness, avoidance is better than
waiting to be cured and it is wise to avoid bathing in high-risk areas."
"Guide to Ghana" by Philip Briggs
This is unfortunate, because you will feel compelled to stay out of lakes that
you haven't even seen in the movies. Picturesque!
"The tell-tale symptoms are a combination of a blinding
headach , a blotchy rash and a high fever. Some form of immunization
protects against the most serious bacterial for of meningitis and ins usually
recommended for Ghana. Other forms of meningitis exist but there are no
vaccines available for these. Local papers normally report localized
outbreaks. If you show symptoms, get to a doctor."
"Guide to Ghana" by Philip Briggs
Unfortunately we have not encountered the local remedy, but as soon as we learn
it, we will pass it on. But bare in mind it is only really a concern in
the North, above Kumasi, in the region containing Tamale and Mole National Park,
during dry season.
You would be surprised at how much more likely you are to
fall and bruise here. It is undeniable and you will see why. For
this reason it is good to be up to date with your Tetanus protection. As
you know, you can get a ten year shot or you can check with Newton Labs and get
the homeopathic remedy.
I am sorry, but typhoid is not to be left out. This is the
one I fear. Fear, not because it has power over you, it doesn't and can be
avoided as easy as anything, but when you are here long enough you start to
break your own rules, and where I say DON'T EAT FROM THE STREET! Sometimes I do
and this is out typhoid gets you. Hygiene is not what you might know hygiene
to be on the streets, period. Your cook will change her baby and collect
some money with the same hand that cooks your food. But unlike diarrhea,
this one can get you. It is quiet and sneaks up on you.
For further details click here.
Polio cases are a common sight, and therefore proper vaccination is
suggested. As with all vaccination, we strongly suggest homeopathic
alternatives to the needle. The Food and Drug Administration has put
certain restrictions on homeopathic manufacturing companies, thus you will find
difficulty getting information on the vaccination unless you talk directly to a
representative. It is not even advertised on their web-sites, just the
same, an excellent product is sold by www.newtonlabs.net
During maise (corn) harvest in certain villages, you will find a high rate of
the children with pertussis (whopping cough). The native youth generally
withstand it, due to some years of resilience, but it can be quite challenging
to a child coming from the other side. Very dangerous for youths under 2
years of age, and quite unsafe for youths under the age of 15. Adults do
catch it, but that is more rare. Again, prevention and cures available in
homeopathic remedies.
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