18th December, 2022
Ehigimetor Igbaugba
The Cross River Government says it has deployed human and material resources to bring the cholera outbreak in the Ekureku community that led to the death of 20 persons under control.
Dr Janet Ekpeyong, the Director General, Cross River Primary Healthcare Development Agency, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Calabar on Sunday.
Ekpeyong, who expressed sadness over the deaths, said proactive measures have been taken to prevent further spread of the disease in the affected villages in Ekureku in the Abi Local Government Area of the state.
She said the deaths could have been avoided if protocols were followed in the affected villages.
According to her, the state government has deployed a response team together with representatives from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Nigerian Red Cross and the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programme.
She added that “the combined team have all intervened accordingly and helped to save lives and prevent further spread of the disease.
“The government finds this incident quite unfortunate and sympathises with affected families.”
The state primary healthcare boss disclosed that no fewer than 30 persons have been hospitalised as a result of the outbreak.
She said “because of the fast transmission rate of cholera, we recorded many deaths, with many others hospitalised in various government-owned facilities and are responding to treatment.
Investigation revealed that the community had been grappling with the challenges of potable water and poor health facilities.
The 10 villages that made up Ekureku are Agbara, Ngarabe, Ekureku-be, Akpoha, Akare-for, Anong, Emenekpon, Etegevel, Egboronyi, Emegeh.