The Ogun State Government has undertaken new measures to tackle cholera outbreak. The recent outbreak took place in the Magboro area of Obafemi-Owode LGA. The Government has set up a treatment center at the Magboro-Akeran Health Center. The State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker issued a statement with reports on the state’s actions towards fighting cholera.
According to the statement, the Government has sealed the public toilet for sanitization. This is the same public toilet they suspect as the major cause of the disease transmission. She also mentioned that an unregistered clinic contributed to the disease spread. The clinic was run by a quack and failed to report the cases it was managing.
According to Dr. Tomi’s statement, the state has sensitized neighboring communities on the outbreak. They were coached on steps to take to prevent it and how to report suspicious cases. The Government has also engaged traditional rulers in the area to teach them measures on how to keep their communities safe.
This comes a month after the Government shut down Iberekodo daily market in Abeokuta in an attempt to curb the spread of diseases spread. Ola Oresanya, The Special Adviser to the Governor on Environment and Chief Executive Officer of the Ogun State Waste Management Authority, explained that they shut the market because traders dump refuse indiscriminately. The market was said to be operating below public hygiene standards.
As Ogun state takes measures to battle the outbreak, other states have also taken action. Lagos State Government empowered the Task Force Against Open Defecation to take action. The environmental police will bring justice to anyone they catch defecating in public. The Lagos State Government has taken these measures to prevent an outbreak in the state. Tunji Bello, Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources gave advice to the public. He urged members of the public to use public or mobile toilets when they want to defecate outdoors.
Similarly, Ebonyi State, which has not recorded any cases, is also taking action. Dr. Richard Nnabu, the State’s Commissioner for Environment, announced some measures the state was taking. He stated that they had sealed some houses in Abakaliki due to poor conditions.
Other states are reporting high cases. Two days ago, about 150 people died in a fresh outbreak in Kaduna. Kaduna now has at least 5,677 cases since the outbreak. Shamsudeen Yahaya, the Executive Secretary of the PHCDA explained that the numbers were obtained from the primary health care centers and hospitals in the state. He explained that the numbers could be higher as some victims in rural areas don’t go to the hospital.
The Kogi State Government also reported an outbreak in the state. Two weeks ago, the state confirmed 129 cases of the disease and 8 deaths. Dr. Austin Ojotu, the State’s Epidemiologist, listed some of the LGAs that recorded the outbreak. They included Lokoja, Bassa, Ankpa, and Kabba-Bunu.
Currently, 2,141 people have died of cholera while there are 65,145 suspected cases.
