From: Ruth Yarnap, Bauchi
An outbreak of Cholera has resulted in the death of at least 20 people in Bauchi state, the State Ministry of Health has confirmed.
Disclosing this to news men at a press conference on Tuesday in Bauchi, the State Commissioner of Health, Dr Aliyu Mohammed Maigoro said that 322 cases of gastroenteritis were reported in the nine local government areas of Bauchi, Darazo, Ganjuwa, Giade, Misau, Ningi, Shira, Toro and Warji.
Dr Maigoro said that the first index case was that of a 37 year old housewife who was presented at Burra General Hospital on the April 24, 2021, adding that the index case complained of abdominal pains, watery diarrhea and vomiting, which she and others affected were successfully managed and discharged.
According to him, “the ministry through the State Primary Health Care Development Agency responded immediately to prevent the spread to other communities. It was discovered that there was an ongoing outbreak of similar disease in neighboring Sumaila and other local government areas of Kano state.
“Following intensified surveillance activities as a result of the report from Bura, four local government areas of Warji, Bauchi, Giade, Toro, detected and reported cases of gastroenteritis. No fewer than 21 samples have so far been collected and tested out of which 19 positive by Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) and culture, confirmed the presence of Cholera.”
He said that some of the response activities so far conducted include activation of the State Public Health Emergency Operation Center, development of an incident Action Plan, surveillance activities heightened to detect and report cases promptly and setting up of isolation centers in all the general hospitals of the affected local governments.
Other response activities, according to the commissioner, include provision of drugs and consumables to all the Isolation sites in the state, mobilization of staff to provide care to victims, chlorination of wells and decontamination of households in the affected LGAs, engagement of community and religious leaders and the general public on prevention and control measures amongst others.
