By Ayobami Ife, Abeokuta
Cholera outbreak has left a 62-year-old woman dead and five others hospitalised in Ijebu-Igbo, Ijebu-North Local Government Area of Ogun State.
The 62 -old woman succumbed to the infectious deadly cholera while caring for her infected child, who is among those currently hospitalised.
The incident which was said to have occurred three days ago was confirmed Dr. Tomi Coker, the state Commissioner for Health
Coker said: “A 62-year-old woman died and five persons were hospitalised. It happened in Ijebu-Igbo in the Ijebu-North local government area of the state.”
Also, the chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, in the state, Dr. Kunle Ashimi, who spoke reporters on Thursday evening, admitted the widespread impact of cholera, which, according to him, has affected other 30 states across the country.
According to him, cases would be treated free of charge at designated facilities and urged residents to imbibe preventive measures against the spread of cholera.
Ashimi said: “Such patients will be transported to and treated free at the facilities designated for the management of cholera cases across the state.
“We use this opportunity to appeal to our people to imbibe preventive measures for the prevention of the spread of Cholera, including avoiding open defecation, avoiding indiscriminate refuse dumping, washing hands regularly, washing fruits and vegetables well before consuming and treating water before consuming it either by boiling or treating with chemical purifying agents.
“We advocate that where there is no wherewithal to do this, two drops of plain household bleach in 1 litre of water is a good alternative. We also implore schools to monitor food, fruit and snack vendors around the schools to ensure that they practice proper hygiene. As well, schools should reintroduce hand washing stations like was done during the COVID-19 period.”
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“We are also working with the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education as well as the Ministry of Tertiary Education to ensure all precautions are taken in our schools to protect children and scholars as they return.
‘’Residents must, however, remain vigilant, practice good hand hygiene, and participate in community sanitation activities to stop the spread of cholera,” the special adviser stated.
Ogunyemi urged citizens to seek medical attention immediately after they experienced symptoms, such as watery diarrhoea, vomiting, abdominal pain, general malaise, and fever, stressing that cholera treatment was provided free of charge at all public health facilities.
While noting that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu remained committed to ensuring that residents of Lagos received quality and affordable healthcare, the Special Adviser extended the gratitude of the state government to local, national, and international partners, including UNICEF, WHO, NCDC, NIMR, Red Cross, and others, for their support in combating the outbreak.
“Appreciation is also extended to the dedicated team of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, lab scientists, environmental health officers, Water Corporation officers, surveillance officers, heads of agencies, members of PHEOC, and volunteers who are working around the clock to combat the disease and keep Lagos safe,” she added.
Causes of Cholera
Cholera, a severe diarrheal illness, caused by infection with the bacterium vibrio cholerae, spreads primarily through contaminated water and food, thriving rapidly in unsanitary conditions.
As part of pre-emptive measures, following the initial alert and advisory issued by the Lagos State ministry of health, the state government, activated its Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, PHEOC, at Mainland Hospital, Yaba, Lagos.
Announcing the outbreak of the disease earlier, the state Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, had revealed that the initial suspected cases of cholera were reported in 29 wards across multiple local government areas, LGAs, with 17 confirmed cases and 15 fatalities.
“The laboratory investigation and test results have so far confirmed Cholera sub type O-1. This sub-type is associated with more severe disease. The pattern of new cases per day varies across LGAs, according to our ongoing surveillance and monitoring updates.”
“The Directorate of Environmental Health of the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency of the Ministry of Environment, have collected samples of water sources, food and beverage samples in all the affected LGAs, while inspections of facilities are ongoing.
“We are pre-positioning cholera kits in health facilities across the State. Our efforts to control the outbreak also include the distribution of Oral Rehydration Solutions, ORS, public health education campaigns,’’ Abayomi had said.
