About 11 people, including men, women, and children, have died due to a cholera outbreak in Ndibokote village, Ezza Inyimagu, located in Izzi Local Government Area in Ebonyi State.
The cholera outbreak began on Monday, September 23rd, 2024. Sadly, a nursing mother also died, leaving behind a 9-month-old baby.
During a rapid response at the Iziogo health center, the Honorable Commissioner for Health, Dr. Moses Ekuma, confirmed the outbreak. He said about 9 to 10 people have died and around 20 others are getting treatment and starting to feel better.
Dr. Ekuma talked about the efforts being made to control the situation. He thanked the Ebonyi State Governor, His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, for providing funds to buy medical supplies for dealing with the outbreak.
Ekuma mentioned that three treatment centers have been set up in the area: Iziogo health center, Sudan Mission, Onuenyim, and Ndibokote village. He advised people to be careful to stop the disease from spreading.
He said, “If you start having symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting, or anything unusual, go to any of these emergency treatment centers right away.”
The medical experts have started emergency response efforts to save more lives. They thanked organizations like WHO and UNICEF for their help.
Dr. Hyacinth Ebenyi, the Director of Public Health, said they think the outbreak started because of a woman who was buried and had cholera. He also said poor hygiene and open defecation made things worse since people got their drinking water from streams.
Elder Stephen Nwankpuma, a community leader, said he called the right authorities as soon as he heard about the trouble, which led to the State Government’s quick action.
Earlier, Mr. Maduabuchi Nwokpuru, a community health worker and owner of God’s Healing Clinic, said the sick people brought to his clinic were having constant diarrhea and vomiting. He and his team worked very hard to save them.
Some community members, who spoke anonymously, said the outbreak began after they buried a woman suspected to have died of cholera last week.
They claimed they called the Chairman of Izzi Local Government Council, Hon. Stephen Nwankpa, and a Coordinator of the Area, but did not get a quick response. They believe that if these leaders had acted faster, fewer people would have died.