No Cholera Epidemic In Ogun State – Commissioner

ibikunle-amosun-ogunThe Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr Olaokun Soyinka, on Friday in Abeokuta debunked reports of a cholera outbreak in the state.

He told newsmen that 104 cases of “Gastroenteritis” have been ‘line listed” since the outbreak in June.

Gastroenteritis is a condition characterised by inflammation of the gastro-intestinal tract. It affects both the stomach and the small intestine, resulting in a combination of diarrhoea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

Soyinka said, “There is an outbreak of vomiting and stooling some of which are Cholera and some of which are not.

“Vast majority of the patients tested have no cholera, only three patients have tested positive to cholera” he noted.

According to him, government got an alert on June 27, when a patient tested positive for cholera, at the Sacred Heart Hospital, Lantoro, Abeokuta.

He noted that 76 cases were line listed in Abeokuta South, 25 in Abeokuta North, two cases in Odeda and a case in Obafemi Owode Local Government Areas.

The commissioner said that only three deaths were recorded in Abeokuta South.

The commissioner said that government had put measures in place to contain the epidemic.

Soyinka added that the state government had provided free kits for the treatment of the disease, noting that health workers at the local government level had begun awareness campaign on the epidemic.

He said the state government had responded to the emergency, adding that effective measures had been taken to contain further spread of the disease.

He added that majority of the areas where the outbreak was recorded in Ijaiye, Abeokuta South, and Adedotun area in Abeokuta North lacked toilet facilities.

He, however, urged members of the public to observe high level of personal and environmental hygiene.

The commissioner also appealed to residents of the state to always boil their drinking water and cook their food thoroughly before eating.

(NAN)