Objective To describe the epidemiology, ecological determinants and public-health response to a yellow-fever (YF) outbreak in Wa East District (WED), Ghana, and to identify operational gaps to strengthen surveillance and immunisation in high-risk rural settings. Design A cross-sectional descriptive outbreak investigation integrating epidemiological, entomological, vaccination-coverage and community knowledge assessments, conducted under Ghana's Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response framework.
Setting WED, located in the Upper West Region of Ghana, is an agrarian, forest-fringe area bordering the Mole National Park, characterised by limited access to health services and seasonal nomadic movements. Participants All suspected YF cases (N=57) reported between epidemiological weeks 41 - 46 of 2021; 50 community respondents interviewed for knowledge and awareness and 52 households inspected for entomological indices.
Main outcome measures Demographic and clinical characteristics of cases, spatial - temporal distribution, vaccination coverage, Aedes vector indices, community knowledge and awareness levels and response interventions. Results A total of 57 suspected cases (33 males 24 females) were identified, of which 12 (21.1%) were laboratory-confirmed.
The case-fatality ratio among confirmed cases was 33.3% (95% CI 9.7% to 65.1%).
BMJ Open published a clinical update in Research Highlights on 24 Apr 2026.
The item focuses on Epidemiological, entomological and community determinants of the 2021 yellow fever outbreak in Wa East District, Ghana: cross-sectional descriptive outbreak investigation.
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