Widal tests unreliable, Ghana must reform food vendor certification to prevent typhoid fever – Dr Ernest Yorke
By Ghana News
Copyright ghanamma
The Vice President of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Dr Ernest Yorke, has called for urgent reforms in the certification process for food vendors, highlighting the unreliability of commonly used tests in detecting typhoid fever carriers.
Speaking at a recent Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programme, Dr Yorke stated, “The current immunological tests that District, Municipal, and Metropolitan Assemblies use to certify food vendors are unreliable.
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“They do not ensure that vendors who are chronic carriers of the bacteria do not contaminate food sold to the public. Stool examination to ascertain the presence of the bacteria is preferred and more reliable.”
He added that many chronic carriers are asymptomatic and appear well and challenged the experts and the Infectious Disease Society to engage the GMA and other key stakeholders for reforms in certifying food vendors.
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Other experts at the programme pointed out the importance of hygiene, sanitation in the fight against the disease, hinting that Ghana may soon introduce typhoid vaccination, initially targeting food vendors before a nationwide rollout.
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