Ghana has confirmed five cases of the Monkeypox virus, the Ghana Health Service has said.

Monkeypox is a rare but potentially serious viral illness that can be transmitted from person to person through direct contact with body fluids or monkeypox lesions.

Addressing the media in Accra on Wednesday, 8 June 2022, the Director-General of the GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye said no death has been recorded yet.

The number of cases recorded so far is five out of 12 suspected cases.

“So far, since the outbreak in Europe occurred, we tested 12 suspected cases in Ghana since 24 May”, he reported.

“Currently, we have confirmed five cases in three regions – Eastern, Western and Greater Accra. This is where we discovered the five cases”.

“No death has occurred among the cases here,” he said.

“One of the cases has been recorded in a Ghanaian who travelled to the US from Ghana. He might have picked it from here,” the GHS boss added.