To prevent the cholera outbreak in Lagos State, residents have been urged to ensure their water sources are safe to drink while maintaining good hygiene practices in food preparation.
The Director of the Health Promotion and Education Board of the Lagos State Primary Health Care Board, Mrs Grace Adesola, gave the advice on Thursday, on the sidelines of the inauguration of the Standing Committee on Cholera Awareness in Ikorodu, Lagos.
Mrs. Adesola implored residents to take preventive measures against cholera seriously, stressing that the disease was caused by what they eat and ingest into their body systems.
According to her, some of the preventive measures included ensuring safe drinking water by boiling it, chlorinating bottled water, maintaining proper sanitation and safely disposing of faeces.
He listed other measures including ending open defecation, practicing personal hygiene by washing hands with soap regularly, ensuring food safety by preparing, cooking and storing food against flies and avoiding raw fruits except when washed with safe water.
“If all these measures are put in place, the cholera outbreak in Lagos State will be reduced,” he said.
Adesola said the board had intensified its surveillance and mobilized officials to go to communities to find out the immediate causes of the disease and the affected people, to cross-check them with records collected in hospitals and health centres.
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“So far we have recorded some deaths; While some are recovering, others have been discharged from hospitals. We still want to inform residents of Lagos State that the cholera outbreak is real,” he added.
According to her, 12 of the 20 local government areas are already affected in various communities, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
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He added that only four cases have been treated at the Ikorodu General Hospital and no deaths have been recorded.
Adesola said the ministry had taken advantage of various stages of sensitization to inform the public about the disease and how to curb its outbreak. (NAN)