Ghana declares yellow fever outbreak in Upper West Region after three fatal cases

Ghana's Ministry of Health has declared a yellow fever outbreak in parts of the Upper West Region after laboratory confirmation of three cases, all of which ended in death, Graphic Online reported on 9 October 2026.

The ministry said suspected cases with fever, jaundice and bleeding were reported at health facilities in the Sissala West and Wa West districts from 9 September, according to Graphic Online and MyJoyOnline on 9 October. Initial samples were tested in Ghana. A laboratory in Dakar, Senegal, accredited by the World Health Organization (WHO), then confirmed three cases of yellow fever, the two outlets reported.

Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh made the declaration in line with the International Health Regulations (2005) and the National Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851), the ministry's statement said, as reported by Graphic Online. The ministry worked through the Ghana Health Service and with the WHO, MyJoyOnline reported.

Xinhua, reporting from Accra on 9 October, quoted the ministry's release as saying that samples from Wa West and Sissala West had tested positive and that all three cases were fatal "despite aggressive management by our health staff in those facilities".

The ministry said national and regional public health emergency operations centres have been activated and rapid response teams sent to the affected communities for case finding, surveillance and risk communication. It said it is preparing a targeted emergency vaccination campaign this October in affected and at-risk districts, including Wa West, Sissala West and Sissala East, Graphic Online reported. Other measures listed include insecticide-treated bed nets, repellents, stronger case management at designated facilities and more surveillance.

The statement gave the public the following advice, as reported by Graphic Online on 9 October: report to the nearest health facility immediately with sudden fever, headache, muscle pain, yellowing of the eyes or skin, or unusual bleeding; remove stagnant water around homes; use insecticide-treated nets and mosquito repellents; avoid self-medication; and rely only on official communication from the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service.

Mr Akandoh spoke about the cases earlier at the ministry's Health Sector Update in Accra, MyJoyOnline reported on 8 October. He said about 450 suspected yellow fever cases had been recorded across Ghana between June and September, of which 74 were in the Upper West Region and three had been confirmed. "We don't have to press the panic buttons," he was quoted as saying.

Yellow fever is a viral disease spread by day-biting mosquitoes, according to the WHO fact sheet dated 20 October 2025. Its first symptoms are fever, headache, body aches, nausea, vomiting and weakness, and they typically disappear within three to four days. WHO says the incubation period is three to six days.

About 15% of infected people develop severe disease, WHO says, with a return of high fever, jaundice, vomiting, bleeding, organ failure and shock. About 50% of patients in that phase die within seven to 10 days. There is no specific antiviral treatment.

A single dose of the vaccine gives lifelong immunity and no booster is needed, WHO says. Immunity develops in 80% to 100% of people within 10 days and in more than 99% within 30 days. WHO classes 27 African countries as high-risk for yellow fever outbreaks and says rapid detection and laboratory confirmation, together with emergency vaccination, are critical to control them.

In 2021 Ghana had an earlier outbreak, first detected in the Savannah Region, that spread to Wa East District in the Upper West Region, the Ghana News Agency reported on 19 November 2021, citing the Ghana Health Service, which recorded 25 deaths across the two regions at that time.