Peter Dada
Ondo State Government says it has put in place safety measures to combat the spread of cholera.
This was made known by the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Banji Ajaka, who also said surveillance has been activated for immediate response to any case of cholera.
The measures put in place were contained in a statement issued by the Press Officer of the Ministry of Health, Bisi Lawani, in Akure, the state capital on Tuesday.
Ajaka disclosed that two cases of the disease were recorded in Okitipupa Local Government Areas of the state at the beginning of the year, but were curtailed by the rapid response team of the state
According to the commissioner, the state had strengthened the rapid response team which comprises primary health care coordinators, lab focal persons, and disease surveillance officers in the three senatorial districts of the state through the COPREP programme.
He said, “The surveillance team was also strengthened by the COPREP programme with community informants/contact tracers, trained and placed on stipends for eight months. They however would be deployed for active case search in preparation for the cholera outbreak.
“An emergency preparedness committee would be put in place to work on issues such as provision of potable water, sanitation, strengthening of the health institutions and other relevant sectors which would be a collaborative effort between all the agencies in the health sector and other MDAs such as Ministries of Environment, Agriculture, Information, Water Resources and Waste Management Agency.”
The commissioner also revealed that an incident management system would be set up through the Emergency Operations Centre, which would facilitate case detection, isolation and treatment of cases including complications, adding that the government would play its part by sensitising and creating awareness in the mass media and also through community engagement.
Ajaka appealed to the people of the state to maintain a high level of personal and food hygiene and report promptly to the hospital in case of diarrhoea and vomiting.
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