Commissioner for Health in Plateau State, Dr Nimkong Ndam, has said that the state has 21 reported cases of cholera and two deaths from the disease in the state.
Ndam said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Jos.
He explained that 30 suspected cases were tested and 17 persons were confirmed to have cholera from the rapid diagnostic test, while four persons were confirmed to have cholera by the culture test, amounting to 21 cases.
He added that the confirmed cases had been treated and discharged already.
The commissioner said that cholera is an acute diarrhoea infection caused by a bacterium called Vibrio Cholera, which is usually found in food or water contaminated by faeces (faecal) and when such is ingested, causes cholera.
He called on the public to ensure that they always wash their fruits and vegetables thoroughly and also boil their drinking water to kill the organism that causes cholera.
He advised people to imbibe the act of handwashing and sanitising their hands where water is not available, to avoid the spread of the disease.
Ndam appealed to the public to always maintain good sanitation and shun indiscriminate dumping of waste.
“This act causes the waste to be washed into various water sources and bodies, especially, with the rains setting in,” he said. NAN
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents
In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state.
and then