Cholera: FG tells states, LGAs to intensify surveillance

.Death toll rises to 29 in Lagos

.As Ogun moves to contain spread

Ibrahim Quadri with agency report

The Federal Government has urged states and local governments to scale up environmental health surveillance in places where food and drinks are sold nationwide.
These places include markets, garages, schools, restaurants, stadia, religious and sporting events venues.
Dr Iziaq Salako, Minister of State for Environment, gave the directive in a statement on Monday in Abuja.
Salako said that the measures would help avert further spread and transmission of cholera, as well as aid in the prevention and control of the disease.
He also urged all Commissioners for Environment and the Local Government Chairpersons to support environmental health officers across the country to step up sanitation and hygiene activities through enhanced community-led total sanitation.
According to him, it is also to strengthen collaboration with the health authorities and other stakeholders in line with the one health approach of the federal government.
The minister said that arrangements had been made to support most affected states with chlorine solution or tablets, water and food testing resources to avert further transmission across the country.
Salako noted that recent situation report from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) indicated a total number of 1,159 suspected cases, 65 confirmed cases and 30 deaths across 30 States.

He identified the most affected states contributing 90 per cent of the total cases to include Bayelsa, Lagos, Zamfara, Abia, Bauchi, Cross River, Ebonyi, Delta and Katsina.
“The ministry has been actively involved through the Department of Pollution Control and Environmental Health Council of Nigeria (EHCON) in activities to curtail further transmission of the deadly disease.
“The ministry has been involved through water and food testing to identified sources of infection, environmental sanitation campaigns and household water chlorination,” he said.
The minister identified cholera as a poor sanitation and hygiene driven disease and an acute diarrhoea infection caused by ingestion of unwholesome food or water contaminated with the bacterium vibrio cholerae.
Salako said that the disease remained a global threat to public health, affecting both children and adults and could lead to death if untreated promptly.
He further identified it as an extremely virulent disease that takes the period of 12 hours and five days for its symptoms to manifest.
“The common early symptoms are frequent watery stool that is usually milky white in colour, nausea and vomiting.
“Cholera outbreak is a seasonal public health event in Nigeria, occurring annually mostly during the rainy season and often in areas with poor sanitation and hygiene practices.
“Extreme climate events like flooding are also contributing in multiple ways to drive the outbreak of the disease. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed the global resurgence of cases of cholera classifying the current outbreak as “grade three public health emergency”, requiring maximal WHO system wide response.
Nigeria is one of the 14 countries in Africa where the resurgence is being experienced,” he said.
The minister urged the populace to be more vigilant and to imbibe good sanitation and hygiene practices at home and in their workplace.

He further tasked all and sundry on preventive measures such as keeping their environment clean always and disposing of waste properly at designated places.

Death toll rises to 29 in Lagos

Similarly, the Lagos, State Government has disclosed that no fewer than five additional deaths have been recorded across healthcare facilities, increasing the death toll to 29.
Aside from that, the government stated that 579 cases have been recorded so far across the state.
The Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, disclosed this on Monday during a press briefing held in Ikeja, to intimate residents on efforts to curb the spread across the State.
Recall that the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Health, Dr. (Mrs.) Kemi Ogunyemi had last week disclosed that the total number of cholera cases had increased to 401 across Lagos, with Lagos Island, Kosofe, and Eti Osa recording the highest numbers.
Dr. Ogunyemi revealed this on Thursday while providing an update on the outbreak after meeting with members of the Lagos State Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC). She added that the death toll has also risen to 21, an increase of six from the previously reported 15 fatalities.
According to her, the rise in cases was anticipated following the Ileya festivities, during which large gatherings occurred. She however noted that suspected cases are subsiding across LGAs particularly in previously affected LGAs due to State Government interventions and surveillance efforts.

The Special Adviser stated that the Lagos State Government, through the Ministry of Health and other sister agencies, is maintaining rigorous surveillance and monitoring of the situation and implementing planned programmes and activities to curb the spread.

Ogun moves to contain spread

Meanwhile, the Ogun  State government has acknowledged the outbreak of cholera in the State, as it  declared its readiness to contain the spread of the disease effectively and efficiently.
It said 25 cases have been reported in seven local government areas with one death.
Addressing journalists at a press conference on Monday at the Olusegun Osoba Press Centre, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta,  Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker, alongside his Environment counterpart, Mr. Ola Oresanya, named the local governments as Ado-Odo/Ota, Remo North, Odeda, Sagamu, Ijebu-North, Ewekoro and Obafemi-Owode.
According to Dr. Coker, her Ministry is collaborating with relevant stakeholders from the Ministries of Environment, Information and Education, Water Corporation, private hospital owners, emergency services, among others.
“Emergency Operations Centre, having been activated earlier, is now in response mode, each MDA involved in the response is carrying out its responsibilities to curtail and control the outbreak. The Ministry and local government areas, waste, and environmental sanitation department is carrying out activities to curb open defecation and improve environmental hygiene.
“Medication and essential consumables have been repositioned at LGAs and other strategic health facilities to provide hitch free, quality treatment that is free in all government facilities.

“Cholera sanitation materials are being shared to all electronic platforms, including social media, radio, and television. The Ministry of Information and the risk communication pillar are working hard to engage the public on prevention practices, good hygiene, and sanitation,” the commissioner noted.
She identified contaminated food and drinks, unhygienic sanitary conditions and poor personal hygiene as some of the risk factors of the disease, imploring the people to imbibe hand hygiene, washing of food, vegetables, fruits properly before eating as well as avoid open defecation so as not to contact the sickness.
She noted that the State Government was aware of the threat poised by the outbreak and was at all times at alert by putting in place adequate preparation to protect the lives and health of all residents, adding that this has helped to minimize the impact of the outbreak when compared with other states.
The commissioner emphasized that the federal government through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has been supportive in the areas of technical assistance and in supplying protective gears to health officials.
While calling on the general public to visit any government health facility for proper examination if they pass watery stool more than twice within eight hours, the the commissioner urged them to call the following telephone numbers 08038642812; 07034214893 and 08084250881 for prompt response.
Contributing, Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Ola Oresanya, noted that since cholera would be transmitted through untreated water, his Ministry has despatched its officials with testing kits to test boreholes and other sources of water supply, just as attention would be paid to those producing sachets water.
The environment commissioner also disclosed that public toilets are being built across the State to discourage open defecation while landlords and house owners are being encouraged to provide toilet facilities in their houses.

The representative of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Oluwole Majekodunmi, said no death has been recorded, while monitoring of schools has been intensified with teachers and learners encouraged to make hand washing a habit while the environment should be kept clean at times.
Also speaking, General Manager, Ogun State Water Corporation, Engr (Mrs.) Muinat Jaji, said government has procured enough chemical for water treatment in major water works in the State just as water has been increased from 82 million litres to 162 million litres to ensure that people in Abeokuta have access to portable water