Thirteen others aged 13 to 19 also tested positive for other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and have since been put on counselling and treatment.
According to health officials, children between nine and 10 years had become sexually active, but they were unable to take precautions owing to the lack of sexual education.
The Tema Metropolitan Director of Health Services, Dr John Yabani, disclosed this at an outreach programme on adolescent reproductive health and national health insurance services in Tema.
It was organised in collaboration with the Tema Metro Office of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and GIZ, with a number of stakeholders in the health sector attending the programme.
During the programme, new subscribers were registered onto the NHIS, while opportunity was also given to old subscribers to renew their cards.
According to Dr Yabani, the statistics were alarming and required the needed urgency to prevent increased infections among students in the metropolis.
He attributed the rise in STI infections to the break down of families which had left many children being raised by single parents.
He however pointed out that the health directorate had put in place a system by which community health officers would undertake house-to-house counselling and testing. That, he said, was to ensure early detection for appropriate actions to be taken.
Source:Ghanaweb
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