EKITI RAISES THE ALARM OVER SUSPECTED CHOLERA OUTBREAK IN LG

The Ekiti State Government has raised the alarm over the discovery of five suspected cases of cholera in Moba Local Government Area of the state, thereby making the state prone to possible outbreak of the killer disease.

The discovery corresponds with the outbreak of cholera in 28 states of the federation, killing and afflicting many citizens.

The Ekiti State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Banji Filani, said the Ministry of Health had reinforced cholera surveillance to pick up early any suspected case to mitigate the outbreak.

Filani also hinted the citizens about a possible outbreak of cholera in some local government areas of the state, thereby calling for caution and proper hygiene in those susceptible areas and other parts of the state.

“On the 19th of September, 2021, five suspected cases of cholera were reported in Moba Local Government Area of the state. These cases were picked up by community informants and reported to the LGA health authorities who in turn reported to the state Ministry of Health for proper investigation.

“Giving the risk of this outbreak escalating rapidly across the state, the Ministry of Health has commenced active case finding across all LGAs in the state. State surveillance teams have been deployed to support the outbreak response at the LGA level.

“These teams are actively searching for and investigating suspected cases in health facilities, informal treatment centres and within communities. This is in line with earlier developed emergency operations plan to tackle a possible cholera outbreak in the state,” he stated.

Filani maintained that the state is also leveraging on the capacity that has been built during the COVID-19 response to handle the present situation, assuring the citizens that the government is on red alert to tame the disease.

According to him, “Cholera is a preventable and treatable epidemic-prone disease that is transmitted by eating or drinking contaminated food or water. The number of cholera cases tends to increase during the rainy season and the risk of death from cholera is very high when treatment is delayed.

Credit: Eons Intelligence