Quite a number of Ghanaian schoolchildren vaccinated against measles in last month?s country-wide immunization campaign went ahead to develop severe rashes on their bodies.
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While some of the children developed what was suspected to be chickenpox, a good number of them actually caught measles and had to stay out of school for days.
While some of the children developed what was suspected to be chickenpox, a good number of them actually caught measles and had to stay out of school for days.?? Rosemary Korangtemaa, 35, trader, said ?that her two children, aged seven and five years respectively, who attend the ?Great Yaa Asantewaa School Complex at Kasoa-Akweley in the Central Region, 10 km west of the national capital, developed chickenpox a few days after they were vaccinated.
?? She said she had to seek permission from the school authorities to withdraw the children from school for medical attention.
?? John Eshun, headmaster of the private school, with a population of more than 600, stated ?a little over 40 pupils had reported what he suspected to be chickenpox or measles on their bodies and had to be sent back home after reporting at the school.
?? ?The school authorities took this measure to prevent the chickenpox and measles from spreading to the rest of the pupils, particularly those at the nursery and kindergarten levels,? Eshun explained.
?? The director-general of Ghana?s Health Service, Dr Ebenezer Appiah Denkyira, when contacted by these reporters , said his outfit would launch a full-scale investigation into the incident.
?? He said the service had put a mechanism in place to ensure that vaccinations against diseases helped in the general well-being of children.
?? ?We keep surveillance during the vaccination period and so we will go round and take a look at the situation,? he said to a question ?during a press conference here.
By Ray Ankomah/Alex Osei-Boateng
