The Ministry of Health has issued a cholera alert ahead of the rains, confirming one case in Accra. In a public notice signed by the Deputy Health Minister, Dr. Victor Bampoe, the Ministry said some communities are still inundated with risk factors that promote the spread of cholera, hence the need for strict sanitary practices.
“This correspondence is to formally notify all and serve as a reminder that, as the rains have set in, and some cities and towns might have experienced flooding, together with other existing risk factors, the potential and tendency for recurrence of cholera outbreak is very high,” the notice stated .
The notice said other risk factors include “intense population movements, inadequate supply of safe water, poor food and personal hygiene practices”.
[contextly_sidebar id=”EJyKQlofM5wvzbEkELwJmMAtNV2NGqPp”]Cholera claimed over 200 lives about two years ago, which led to the introduction of the National Sanitation Day exercise. The number of recorded cases and deaths has only reduced slightly.
In 2014, Greater Accra Region alone recorded 28,975 cholera cases with 243 deaths. But the number of cases reduced drastically in 2015 to 692 with 15 deaths.
One case recorded at Achimota
The Public Relations Officer of the Health Ministry, Tony Goodman, who spoke to Citi News on the alert indicated that there was no cause for alarm yet, as there was only one case of cholera recorded at the Achimota Hospital.
He however noted that the Ministry of Health is embarking on a sensitization drive to aid in the prevention and spread of the disease.
“If our campaign together with the media is taken seriously, we are not supposed to see what we saw in 2015 and 2014; so we entreat you the media to keep drumming that message of cleaning our environment, keeping ourselves clean, washing our hands and all that.”
He assured that the health facilities are ready to deal with an outbreak, but reiterated the fact that prevention is their priority.
“For us, we are ready. When you go to the various facilities, you can see some areas designated for cholera, but we what we should be doing, is prevent it from coming to the hospital.”
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By: Eugenia Tenkorang/citifmonline.com/Ghana