Fresh cholera outbreak kills 10 in Ebonyi

At least 10 people have died in a fresh cholera outbreak in Ebonyi State, South-east of Nigeria.

The deaths were recorded in Ndibokote village in Ezza-Inyimagu, Agbaja Autonomous Community, Izzi Local Government Area of the state.

Commissioner for Health in the state, Moses Ekuma confirmed the outbreak and the deaths in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday.

Mr Ekuma, a medical doctor, also revealed that over 20 others from the area have been hospitalised for suspected cholera infection.

He said the Ebonyi State Government, in collaboration with the local government and health partners, had rushed the infected people to three hospitals in the area.

The patients are receiving treatment at Sudan United Mission Hospital, Onuenyim Agbaja; Sudan United Mission Hospital, Izziogo; and Izziogo Health Centre.

The commissioner, Mr Ekuma, blamed the outbreak on poor hygienic practices by the people.

He urged Ebonyi residents to stop open defecation and adopt good hygiene practices, such as washing their hands regularly, covering their food, and drinking clean water.

Mr Ekuma appealed to the people to report to the nearest hospital once they started having symptoms like diarrhoea, vomiting and dehydration.

He said the Ministry of Health received the information on Wednesday morning and quickly scrambled a team of medical professionals, in conjunction with the World Health Organisation and UNICEF, to the area.

“We have enough drugs to treat infected persons,” the commissioner said.

“We plan to open another health centre in the affected community for easy access to curtail the outbreak and we have made available cars and motorcycles for easy evacuation of suspected infected persons to the hospitals,” he added.

The Chairperson of Izzi Area Council, Stephen Nwankpa, thanked the state government for the swift response, which he said helped to save the lives of many infected persons.

A member of the community, Stephen Nwankpuma, linked the death to the burial of a woman in the community last weekend.

He said: “There was a burial there last week and also there were others who went and ate dog killed in the area. People who went to the burial and those who ate the dog were the main people who first got sick.

“Those who went to the burial ate a cow that was killed and prepared in a very dirty environment. Their community is located in the remotest part of the state. It shares a boundary with Benue State.

“There is no good source of water in the area. The only borehole in the area is no longer functional. The only source of water there now is a pond or stream and it is very dirty.

“The situation is worsened by the heavy rain falling this period which flowed into the stream, carrying all the wastes with it and probably contaminating the pond,” he said.

Cholera, caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholera, has been ravaging Ebonyi State for decades.