Ogun advises residents on waste disposal – Cholera

•Lagos records 25 cases in Kirikiri Correctional Centre
•Katsina records 118 suspected cases, no case in Kaduna, Kano

Ogun State Waste Management Authority (OGWAMA) has appealed to residents exposing their waste to start containerising them to reduce the spread of cholera.

This was as the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, disclosed that 25 cases of severe gastroenteritis confirmed to be caused by cholera were reported at Kirikiri Correctional Centre.

However, while Katsina recorded 118 suspected cases, there was no case in both Kaduna and Kano states. The newly-appointed Special Adviser to the Governor and Managing Director of OGWAMA, Abayomi Hunye, made the appeal while inspecting the rehabilitation work at the Kurata Dumpsite in Ota.

According to him, it is only by containerising their waste that they would be easy to collect and dispose of, and as such prevented from contaminating the environment.

He said: “Residents exposing their wastes poses danger because when it rains, they will infect the underground water, which, when not purified, will lead to a water-borne infestation that may result in cholera.

“Aside from this, these wastes also find their way to rivers and wetlands which will affect all the wells and boreholes in those areas.”
Hunye, therefore, called on those living in those areas to avoid drinking well, borehole as well as sachet water, as some of them might not be fit for human consumption this time around.

On the source of the disease two weeks ago, Abayomi disclosed that it had been traced to unregulated street beverages and contaminated water supply.

DATA from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) showed that no fewer than 31 states have so far recorded 528 confirmed cases, with 53 deaths in no fewer than 117 local councils across the country. Katsina recorded 118 suspected cases, out of which two were confirmed.

The state government, through the Director of Epidemiology, State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (SPHDA), Dr Kabir Suleiman, told newsmen in Katsina that cholera was an ailment caused by bacteria, which was detected with acute diarrhoea.

“Based on our records, around March, this year, we had an outbreak of cholera in Kusada Local Council. There were 68 suspected cases where we have two confirmed cases with one death. The situation was effectively managed by the government together with development partners,” he said.

Meanwhile, in Kaduna, the State Primary Health Care Board (SPHCB) said there was no reported case in the state. Also Kano government said it had not recorded any case of cholera.

NCDC had earlier listed Kano among the states battling the disease. But the Commissioner for Health, Dr Abubakar Labaran, said findings so far revealed that there was no cholera in the state.

“We don’t have a single case as of now. We have seen some reports in the media, but we can categorically tell you that there is none,” he said.