Ghana has recorded five cases of monkeypox in three regions - Eastern, Western and Greater Accra Regions.

The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, who disclosed this at a press briefing in Accra said the five cases were detected after a clinical investigation of 12 suspected cases in the latter part of May 2022.

"One case has also been recorded in a Ghanaian who travelled to the United States of America," he added.

He said no death has yet been recorded.

He said currently there is no specific treatment for monkeypox, adding that the health system was relying on antipyretics drugs to treat mild symptoms such as fever and analgesics drugs for pain relief.

"Adequate nutrition and rehydration are also important," he added.

However, he said some countries have approved a vaccine for the disease but supply was limited.

Dr Kuma-Aboagye said even though the approved vaccine was not available in the country, the GHS was not also considering vaccination, since the cases recorded, have not reached a stage that calls for vaccination.

On measures to contain the spread of the disease, he said the GHS has sent an alert to all regional and teaching hospitals, disseminated information on the disease on various media platforms and sensitized healthcare workers on the disease.

Also, the GHS has started contact tracing and follow up of all confirmed cases, he added.

He urged Ghanaians to practise regular hand washing, avoid close contact, and always wear masks to help contain the spread of the disease.

Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease caused by the monkeypox virus and transmitted from an infected animal or infected humans.

Human to human transmission can occur through skin-to-skin contact, face-to-face contact and mouth-to-skin contact.

It can also be spread through touching bedding, towels, clothing or objects used by an infected person.

On COVID-19, the Director-General said the cases have started rising again as active cases stood at over 400.

He said many of the cases were recorded in Greater Accra Region and urged Ghanaians who have not been vaccinated to do so and continue to practice all the COVID-19 protocols.