Monday 21 October 2013

Cholera Outbreak: 8 Killed, 61 Hospitalized In Plateau



No fewer than eight people have died and
61 hospitalized in a community where
people displaced by communal conflicts live
in Plateau state, following an outbreak of
cholera. Medical authorities confirmed an outbreak
of the disease in Namu village in the
Qua’pan Local Government Area of the
state. Namu, a village at the Plateau and Nasarawa
States border, hosts displaced people in the
violent crisis that broke out in the Obi Local
Government Area of Nasarawa State. “Yes, there has been an outbreak of cholera
in Namu village, eight people have been
killed while 61 others have been
hospitalised,” the Plateau State
Epidemiologist, Dr Raymond Yuryit, said in
Namu on Sunday. Mr Yuryit spoke when he received Alhassan
Barde, the Executive Secretary of the
Plateau State Emergency Management
Agency (SEMA), who had gone to assess the
situation. He said that those hospitalized had been
diagnosed with the disease and were
admitted into various health centres. Mr Yuryit attributed the outbreak to
overcrowding, dirty environment and the
consumption of unhygienic food and water. Cholera kills within the shortest possible
time because it dehydrates the victim,
leading to severe gastro-intestinal impact. The medical expert explained further that
the Namu victims suffered chronic
diarrhoea and vomiting, saying that many
had been hit by the disease before
government intervened. The specialist said that the epidemic was
not altogether a surprise as the area had
lots of internally-displaced persons from
Nasarawa State, a development that had put
much pressure on the environment and
portable drinking water. “But we are happy that the situation is
already under control,” he said. The epidemiologist explained that he had
advised health workers in private and
government health centres on ways to avert
a recurrence of the ailment and also on how
to quickly manage the situation if it arose. He thanked the Plateau and Nasarawa
States governments for their quick
response to the report, lauding the SEMAs
for their massive support. He called on government at all levels to
ensure that the monthly sanitation exercise
was taken seriously, especially in rural
areas, to ensure good hygiene for rural
dwellers. Mr Juryit also appealed to government to
provide portable water to rural dwellers,
pointing out that dirty water was the main
cause of the epidemic. He called on people in the area to promptly
report any case of diarrhoea or vomiting to
the nearest health centre, saying that quick
action could minimise casualty rates. Mr Barde, in his remarks, said that the quick
intervention by the agency was part of its
statutory mandate, promising to continue to
offer quick assistance to areas in need. The SEMA chief said that the agency
intervened to avert the possibility of the
disease spreading to other parts of the
state, calling on relevant agencies to assist
in the management of disaster cases. He thanked the Nasarawa Government for
donating drugs that would be distributed to
various health centres.

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