Ekiti raises alarm over cholera outbreak

The Ekiti State government has raised the alarm over the outbreak of cholera with the discovery of five suspected cases in Moba local council of the state.

A statement in Ado Ekiti, yesterday, by the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Banji Filani, said the Ministry of Health had reinforced cholera surveillance to pick up any suspected case early and consequently mitigate the outbreak.

Filani warned of a possible outbreak in other local councils of the state, urging the people to exhibit proper hygiene.

He said: “On September 19, 2021, five suspected cases of cholera were reported in Moba Local Government Area (LGA) 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.

“Given 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.”

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

He added: “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. 

“Hence, it is very important to visit a health facility if symptoms of cholera such as watery diarrhoea and vomiting are observed. The state government urges members of the public to be aware of the risk of the disease.”