Eating fufu, omo tuo, tuo zaafi together from one bowl spreads Hepatitis B - Professor Akosa

Renowned cellular pathologist and lifestyle wellness consultant, Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, has raised concerns about the communal eating of soupy foods like fufu, omo tuo, and tuo zaafi, warning that it can facilitate the spread of Hepatitis B.

During a discussion aimed at improving health quality in Ghana at the Ghana Shippers Authority Hall in Accra, Professor Akosa explained how the practice of eating from a single bowl can lead to the transmission of Hepatitis B.

He pointed out that when people put their hands in their mouths and then dip them into the communal soup, they can inadvertently mix saliva with the soup.

This behaviour increases the risk of spreading Hepatitis B if one of the individuals is infected.

"Once upon a time, we were all there, there was group participation, group eating, group everything, and even the eating, it was later on that I realized that this is how we spread Hepatitis B. We didn't know that. We are all eating fufu, by the time you finish, you are drinking saliva.

"I mean, five, six of you, you are doing omo tuo or you are doing fufu, what do you think you are doing? You are going in like that and then you come in, by the time you are ending, you are drinking saliva. It is the easiest way to spread Hepatitis B," Graphic.com.gh quoted.

The discussion was part of the latest edition of the Graphic National Dialogue Series, organized by the Graphic Communications Group Ltd.

Professor Akosa and health policy and management expert, Prof. Aaron Abuosi, were the main speakers on the theme "Quality Health for All."

This series serves as a forum for discussing development issues with a focus on achieving national consensus in a non-partisan environment.

It also aims to collate ideas into a document to influence policymaking at various levels of society.