The Chief Executive Officer of Deseret Hospital in Santa Maria-Accra, Dr. Dickson Adomako Kisi has cautioned the general public to be extra careful when it comes to meningitis as it kills faster than many diseases.
Meningitis is usually caused by a viral, bacterial, or fungal infection.
In an interview with Abena Pokua Ahwenee on Dadi 101.1 FM, the doctor made this statement to advise his fellow medics to step up their game and also citizens to not ignore symptoms of meningitis which are headaches, hot temperature, and eye aches as a result of exposure to the sun.
This response from Dr. Dickson comes following the death of a final year student at Methodist Girl’s Senior High School at Mamfe-Akuapem in the Eastern Region.
The deceased young girl of the school, Cindy Aku Shika who happened to be a General Arts student was admitted at the Tetteh Quarshie Hospital at Mampong on Thursday, July 16 after battling with a short illness.
The interview was made possible because there were some uncertainties hovering around the cause of her death, as the Ghana Health Service revealed that the student was diagnosed with acute malaria while her father also revealed doctor’s test showed that she died of meningitis.
During the interview, Dr. Dickson explained that malaria can get to a severe state which is cerebral malaria which means that the brain has been affected.
“Therefore an autopsy can reveal that a person can be infected with two diseases’ so it is possible that she was diagnosed with malaria that could have grown into meningitis which has caused her death”, he said.
Using the medium to educate the public, Dr. Dickson advised that people should seek proper medical care when they feel unwell.
“Meningitis should be taken very seriously because it takes the form of malaria but kills quite easy due to ignorance.”
Source: Mybrytfmonline/Gladys Amoah Konadu
