Conference Abstract | Volume 9 (ConfPro8): Abstract 67 | Published: 09 Oct 2026
Isaac Konadu1, &, Ebenezer Kofi Mensah2, Millicent Efua Obeng3, Donne Ameme1, Ernest Kenu1,4
1Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana, 2Public Health Laboratory, Sekondi, Ghana, 3Ghana Health Service, Municipal Health Directorate, Ho, Ghana, 4Department of Epidemiology and Disease Control, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Legon; Ghana
&Corresponding author: Isaac Konadu, Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Legon, Email: yawkonadu115@gmail.com, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-0862-6099
Received: 11 Mar 2026, Accepted: 30 Aug 2026, Published: 09 Oct 2026
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Keywords: Yellow Fever, surveillance, Ho Municipality, attributes
©Isaac Konadu et al. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Isaac Konadu et al., Evaluation of the yellow fever surveillance system in the Ho Municipality, Volta Region, Ghana, 2026. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2026;9(ConfPro8):67. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO8-0067
Yellow fever remains a public health threat in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, despite the availability of vaccines for effective prevention. Ghana is listed as a Yellow Fever endemic country and has experienced outbreaks in recent years. Periodic evaluation of surveillance systems is essential to assess performance and identify gaps for improvement. We assessed the performance of the Yellow Fever Surveillance System in the Ho Municipality, Volta Region, from 2021 to 2025.
We reviewed 2021-2025 Yellow Fever surveillance data from the Ho Municipality and Health Directorate between April and June 2026. We interviewed 20 stakeholders using a semi-structured questionnaire. The Centers for Disease Control Updated Guidelines for Evaluating Public Health Surveillance Systems (2001) were used to assess the system’s attributes and usefulness. We performed univariate analysis, and results were expressed as frequencies and percentages. Data were entered, cleaned, and analyzed using Microsoft Excel.
Eleven suspected yellow fever cases were reported during the evaluation period. All suspected cases were investigated, and samples were collected for laboratory confirmation; however, no confirmed yellow fever case or outbreak was recorded. The system achieved a score of 100% in meeting its objectives and 77% for usefulness. Attribute scores were: simplicity (100%), representativeness (100%), acceptability (100%), stability (100%), flexibility (100%), data quality (75%), and timeliness (75%). The system demonstrated prompt reporting, with all suspected cases notified within 24 hours of detection. Laboratory feedback was available for six of the eleven (54.5%) suspected cases reviewed. Stakeholders identified occasional staffing constraints and poor record archiving as major challenges.
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