TOWARDS GUINEA WORM ERADICATION IN SAVELUGU-NANTON DISTRICT, GHANA: A SPATIO-TEMPORAL APPROACH.

Abstract

Dracunculiasis, or Guinea Worm Disease (GWD) is a disease of the poor, debilitating many in the most remote and disadvantaged communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, where access to potable water is limited and health care and education are either inadequate or lacking. About 75 per cent of reported guinea worm cases come from the Northern Region with Tolon-Kumbungu and Savelugu-Nanton Districts topping the list and pushing Ghana to second position in the world after Sudan. Inverse Distance Weighted approach was used to create disease risk maps to highlight the disease prevalence in space and time from 2005-2010 using Geographic Information Systems. Spatial autocorrelation analysis using Morans Index and point count statistics from the point maps was used to identify the spatial patterns as well as the trends in the disease prevalence. Two hundred and six (206) respondents were purposively selected from the low and high risk areas to ascertain their knowledge of the disease and its prevention. The risk surface and point maps produced showed that the Diare/Kadia zone was the most endemic area for the period 2005-2010. It also showed the reduction of the disease from 2008-2010 from 33% to 1%. Knowledge of the disease in the area is high and the programme mostly implemented in the communities is the provision of water filters. The maps highlighted the hot spot areas of the disease from the year 2005 to 2010. It showed a varied pattern of disease occurrence and considerable reduction from 2008-2010 due to improved safe water sources, education and effective eradication activities. The study also revealed a high awareness of the disease as of 2012 which strengthen the effort to curb the resurgence of the disease. Vigilant surveillance is still required until no Guinea worms remain anywhere in the district and Ghana at large.