Farming community records high incidence of malaria infection

Health authorities in the Bosomtwe District of the Ashanti Region are reporting high incidence of malaria infection among residents of Nyameani, a farming community.

Forty-seven percent of annual outpatient attendance at the district hospital is for the deadly tropical disease.

About 50 per cent of pupils of the local primary school screened at an outreach programme tested positive for the malaria parasite.

Officials attribute the alarming development to lack of access to insecticide treated nets to protect people in the community from mosquito bite.

Half of malaria patients who seek treatment at the hospital every year are children, while nine percent are pregnant women.

District Director of Health, Joseph Adomako, says conditions of some patients could have deteriorated if they had not been diagnosed for treatment.

The health outreach was organized by Voltic Ghana.

Corporate Affairs Manager, Cyrus de Graft-Johnson, says the initiative underscores the company's commitment to the health of the people it serves.

He says Voltic seeks to make a mark by investing in education, health and social development in local communities.