Jos – Medical authorities in Plateau have confirmed
an outbreak of cholera 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. Yuryit spoke when he received Alhaji Alhassan
Barde, the Executive Secretary of the Plateau State
Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), who had
gone to assess the situation. He said that those hospitalised had been diagnosed
with the disease and had been admitted into
various health centres. Juryit attributed the outbreak to overcrowding,
dirty environment and the consumption of
unhygienic food and water. He described cholera as a “deadly disease” that
could kill “within the shortest possible time because
its 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. 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. 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. (NAN) http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/10/8-killed-61-hospitalised-plateau-cholera-outbreak/