Following the outbreak of cholera in some states, the Ondo State Government has explained the measures it has adopted to curb the spread of the disease in the state.
State Health Commissioner Banji Ajaka said on Monday that the state has activated its surveillance for immediate response to any case of cholera in the state.
According to the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), there were 65 confirmed cases of cholera with 30 deaths between January 1 and June 11 in 96 LGAs across 30 states in the country.
The alarm was raised again in the southwest region when Lagos state reported an outbreak with 60 hospital admissions and five deaths.
The NCDC stated that a total of 1,141 suspected cases have been recorded this year. Ten states contributed 90 percent of the total.
The states are Bayelsa, Zamfara, Abia, Cross River, Bauchi, Delta, Katsina, Imo, Nasarawa and Lagos.
Ajaka noted that two cases were reported in the Okitipupa local government area at the beginning of the year, adding that the case was restricted by the state’s Rapid Response team.
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He said the state has strengthened the Rapid Response Team, which includes Primary Health Center (PHC) coordinators, laboratory coordinators and Disease Surveillance officials in the three senatorial districts of the state through the COPREP programme.
“The surveillance team was also strengthened by the COPREP program with trained and paid community informants/contact tracers for eight months. However, they would be sent on active case finding in preparation for the cholera outbreak,” he said.
He further explained that an emergency preparedness committee would be established to work on issues such as the provision of drinking water, sanitation and strengthening of health institutions and other relevant sectors, which would be a collaborative effort between all agencies in the country. health sector and other MDAs such as the Ministries of Environment, Agriculture, Information, Water Resources and the waste management agency.
The commissioner added that an incident management system would be established through the COE, facilitating the detection, isolation and treatment of cases, including complications.
Ajaka promised that the government will play its role by raising awareness in the media and also through community participation.
He called on citizens to maintain a high level of personal and food hygiene and to go quickly to the hospital in case of diarrhea and vomiting.
Cholera is a highly contagious disease transmitted by food and water. It spreads by direct transmission through eating or drinking contaminated food or water and by indirect transmission due to poor sanitary conditions and lack of handwashing.
Symptoms of cholera include sudden onset of acute, painless, watery diarrhea, with or without vomiting. It may be associated with nausea, profuse vomiting, and fever.
Severe cases can lead to death within hours due to dehydration. However, about 80 percent of people may show only mild symptoms or no symptoms at all.