328 test positive for elephantiasis in Wenchi Municipality, KCCR fellow says

More than 300 people in the Wenchi Municipality of the Bono Region have been infected with elephantiasis, Dr Vera Serwaa Opoku, a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR), has said.

She said 328 out of 4,954 individuals tested during a clinical screening exercise in the municipality were confirmed positive. She said the centre had administered medication to those infected.

Dr Opoku disclosed the results in an interview with the media on the sidelines of a meeting of the Wenchi Municipal Directorate of Health in Wenchi. She said the screening exercise was conducted over a six-month period in 2025.

She said the infected persons could be treated with the drugs provided, but noted that the treatment process would take about two years from the date medication was taken.

Dr Opoku urged the public to protect themselves from mosquito bites, clear weedy surroundings and desilt choked gutters.

She explained that infected mosquitoes transmit elephantiasis to humans through bites. She advised residents to keep their environment clean and observe personal hygiene.

She also urged people to take precautionary measures by sleeping under insecticide-treated nets, noting that the vectors are active in the evenings and early morning hours.

Dr Opoku said infected mosquitoes breed around water basins, open gutters, bushy areas and waterways. She advised individuals who experience unusual abnormalities to report to the nearest health facility for medical examination.

She said early diagnosis and detection make the disease easier to manage and treat. She explained that elephantiasis, also known as lymphatic filariasis, is a neglected tropical disease caused by parasitic worms transmitted through mosquito bites.

The disease causes severe and permanent swelling, known as lymphedema, as well as skin thickening and hardening, usually affecting the legs, arms or genitals.

She said the infection often leads to physical disability, pain and social stigma in tropical regions.