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Despite the government and Global health initiatives toward yellow fever epidemic control in Ghana, the country continues to witness sporadic outbreaks of yellow fever mostly among the unvaccinated population and suspected migrates(nomadic) who enter the country through the porous borders. Little is known about nomadic knowledge, attitudes and practice regarding this communicable disease in Ghana.We conducted a community-based cross-sectional survey in 22 yellow fever outbreak communities to assess nomadic household heads’ knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding yellow fever after the November, 2021 outbreak. Our study results were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and univariate and multivariate logistics regression with dichotomous outcomes.About 90% of the nomadic had poor knowledge of the signs and symptoms of yellow with only 16% knowing the vector that transmits yellow fever. The most common source of information on yellow fever was the health campaign.Over 80% of household heads surveyed had positive attitudes regarding yellow fever with about 84% worried about the disease outbreak in their community. In a multivariate analysis, Age group, gender ideology, occupation, source of health information, duration of in the community and Nationality were associated with positive attitudes towards yellow fever.Close to 74% have a positive practice, with 97.3% adopting a strategy to control mosquitoes in their household. Nationality, duration of stay in the community, and age group were associated with Positive practices.Our findings show that yellow fever epidemic control can be improved in hard-to-reach communities through locally-tailored education and health promotion campaigns to improve knowledge and preventive practices against this infectious disease.

Yellow fever (YF) is a viral infection transmitted via mosquito bites. The disease is endemic in many African countries and Ghana has experienced frequent outbreaks. Vaccine coverage is often low in nomadic communities. Objective: To evaluate YF vaccination coverage among nomadic population after the YF vaccination campaign in targeted communities in the Savanah region, Ghana. Study Design: A community-based cross-sectional study, with a modified WHO vaccination coverage cluster survey was used to collect data from 2914 nomads in 414 nomadic households across 22 YF affected communities. Data were analyzed using Stata version 15. T-test analysis of variance was conducted to determine the statistical difference among different population groups.   Results: Out of the 2914 household members surveyed, 2342 (80%) were vaccinated against YF. There was a statistical difference between household size and household vaccination coverage with a mean difference of 1.38(p-value, <0.001). We found a statistical difference between YF vaccination coverage among the study population and that of the national coverage (88%) with a mean difference of 0.05(p-value =<0.001). About 94% of those vaccinated were able to show proof of vaccination with certified vaccination cards.  The main reason for non-vaccination was household member/s travelling out of the district during the vaccination campaign. Conclusion: YF vaccination coverage was below the national vaccination coverage, but within the WHO recommended threshold in obtaining herd immunity. The catch-up vaccination targeting hard-to-reach nomadic communities was necessary, in order to reduce likelihood of future outbreaks in these groups. Where resources allow, proactive monitoring of vaccine coverage and catch-up campaigns can help countries to meet 2026 international targets for YF elimination.

Despite the government and global health initiatives toward yellow fever epidemic control in Ghana, the country continues to witness sporadic outbreaks of yellow fever mostly among the unvaccinated population and suspected migrates(nomadic) who enter the country. Little is known about nomadic knowledge, attitudes and practice regarding this communicable disease in Ghana. We conducted a community-based cross-sectional survey in 22 yellow fever outbreak communities to assess nomadic household heads’ knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) regarding yellow fever after an outbreak in November 2021 outbreak. Our study results were analyzed using descriptive statistics, bivariate and multivariate logistics regression with dichotomous outcomes. Significant statistics were obtained from multivariate analysis. About 90% of the nomadic had poor knowledge of the signs and symptoms of yellow with only 16% knowing the vector that transmits yellow fever. The most common source of information on yellow fever was the health campaign. Over 80% of household heads surveyed had positive attitudes regarding yellow fever with about 84% worried about the disease outbreak in their community. In a multivariate logistic regression model, age group(AOR = 2.79; 95% CI: 1.31, 5.98, p = 0.008)., gender ideology(AOR = 2.27; 95% CI: 1.14–4.51, p = 0.019), occupation(AOR = 15.65; 95% CI: 7.02, 34.87, p<0.001), source of health information(AOR = 0.27; 95% CI: 0.07, 0.96, p = 0.043), duration of stay in the community(AOR = 1.11; 95% CI: 1.31, 5.98, p = 0.008) and nationality (AOR = 0.22; 95% CI:0.47, 0.47, p<0.001) were associated with positive attitudes towards yellow fever. Close to 74% have a positive practice, with 97.3% controlling mosquitoes in their household. Nationality (AOR = 3.85; 95% CI: 2.26, 6.56, p<0.001), duration of stay in the community (AOR = 1.06; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.10, p = 0.001), and age group(AOR = 040; 95% CI: 0.22, 0.73, p = 0.003) were associated with positive practices. Our findings show that yellow fever KAP was variable with clear knowledge gaps. Regular locally-tailored education and health promotion campaigns should be considered to improve knowledge and preventive practices against this infectious disease.

Aim The study examined the associated adverse events following SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccination among healthcare workers during the first dose of the vaccine in the Northern Region of Ghana. Design The study was a cross‐sectional survey involving 463 healthcare workers. Method The data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The data were analysed descriptively, and binary logistics was performed using SPSS version 25. Results The mean age was 33.4 ± 9.7 years, the majority (43.6%) being ≤30 years and males (57.2%). The self‐reported prevalence of SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccine adverse events was 75.5%. Common systemic adverse events comprised headache (47.5%), dizziness (18.4%) and local adverse events included generalized body pains (44.0%) and abscess around the injection sites (11.2%). The study found a high prevalence of self‐reported SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccine adverse events involving both systemic and local adverse events. Our study gives useful information that can be used for public health‐targeted interventions to boost public confidence in SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccines.