Accra health workers woried over cholera outbreaks (Page 43)

Story: Lucy Adoma Yeboah
HEALTH personnel in the Greater Accra Region are worried over the frequent outbreak of cholera in the region.
They have attributed the causes to poor sanitation, including open defecation, poor waste disposal, poor food hygiene and low level of hand-washing practices across the region.
Another cause for the disease in the region is the perennial water shortage, which forces residents to use unsafe water.
A report made available to the Daily Graphic by the Greater Accra Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Irene Agyepong, indicated an uneven trend over the last 10 years, which seems to go up in one instance, comes down later only to move up again in another year.
The report indicated that between September 4 and October 10, this year, a total of 22 cases suspected to be cholera had been reported in the Accra Metropolitan Area, with the bulk of the cases coming from the Ashiedu-Keteke and Ablekuma sub-metropolitan areas.
The report also indicated the epidemic periods to be associated with periods of rain, especially when the rains were relatively light.
A total of 319 cases were reported in 1998 out of which nine died; 3,147 cases in 1999 of which 21 died, out of the 1,840 cases reported in 2000 , eight died, while 42 died out of the 1,387 cases reported in 2001.
The rest are 2,044 cases with 47 deaths in 2002, 156 cases in 2003 when four died, nobody died out of eight persons who had the disease in 2004.
The figure rose to 1,812 in 2005, claiming 21 lives; 1,290 cases in 2006 with 21 deaths; and in 2007, seven people were affected with none dying from the disease.
Out of 22 cases reported this year, seven have been confirmed by laboratory testing as cholera, nine treated without testing, two confirmed negative while the laboratory results of the remaining four are yet to be received by the Regional Directorate.
Chorela is a disease that spreads through faeces. The cholera bacteria are passed out in large quantities in faeces.
To prevent the disease, residents have been advised to use safe toilets such as KVIPs or water closets rather than defecate in the open, always wash their hands with soap and water after using the toilet and eat hot freshly prepared or heated food.
They are also to cover their food to protect it from flies, avoid food from food vendors with unsanitary practices and also report immediately to the nearest health facility any diarrhoea.