…As Cholera case hits 297
Report by SHAFII ADAMS
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has on Thursday disclosed that it will donate commodities to the Six affected local government areas of Niger state so as to curb further spread of the disease to other areas.
The UNICEF Chief of Kaduna Field Office, Dr. Gerida Birukila said while addressing Journalists after inspecting the isolation centre at old wing of late Senator Idris Ibrahim Kuta Primary Health Care centre along old airport road Minna that, even though the center has been running, the UNICEF wants to beef it up to meet up to the standard and demands of the cholera treatment.
It should be recalled that, Niger state government though the Commissioner of Primary Health Care, Dr. Ibrahim Dangana confirmed that thirteen lives were lost and about two hundred and forty persons hospitalised in six local government areas.
She added that the UNICEF will be working in collaboration with the Niger state government and other organisations like the World Health Organisation (WHO) to ensure the spread of the disease is curbed.
According to her “as of today (Thursday), most of those who have died are children and they are also more represented in the 297 suspected cases.”
“We have four new cases who have just been admitted here, but in the local government areas there are twenty three cases. But some of them are positive while others are not.
Also, UNICEF Health Specialist with the Kaduna Field Office, Dr. Sule Mele said the case of cholera was identified two weeks ago and in the metropolitan city of Minna which has Chanchaga and Bosso LGAs, and jad gradually spread to four other LGAs.
Accordingly, he said “so far, we have over two hundred suspected cases and 50 percent are positive for rapid diagnostic test. And there are likely increase of cases”.
He further disclosed that, the UNICEF is doing all it can to curb the spread by carrying out sensitisation as a well as case management of those who are suspected, they are being isolated and treated.
Speaking on efforts made so far, Dr. Mele said the UNICEF has donated commodities and it is ready to set up cholera treatment units in all the other LGAs that there are suspected cases because we can not bring all the suspects here and we are going to preposition these commodities to these units.
Earlier, the Director Public Health in the Ministry of Secondary and Tertiary Health, Dr. Ibrahim Idris said the State Government has set up treatment and isolation centres to mitigate the spread and has embarked on aggressive sensitization exercises.