Cholera outbreak kills 7 in Enugu
From Maurice Okafor, Enugu
The Enugu State Ministry of Health has confirmed the outbreak of Cholera in New Artisan Market, Enugu, which resulted in the death of seven people with 19 persons identified with the symptoms of the disease.
Confirming the outbreak in the market, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Emmanuel Ikechukwu Obi, disclosed that the Ministry’s rapid response team, upon receiving reports of the incident carried out an immediate investigation and “it was observed that the patients presented with sudden onset of passage of loose stool and vomiting”.
He added that “the ill persons identified within the area were immediately and safely evacuated to the state teaching hospital and are receiving treatment, while health education on safe and hygienic practices were given to the inhabitants of the market”.
According to the Health Commissioner, “further tests carried out by the State Ministry of Health at the Teaching Hospital revealed that all the persons were suffering from Cholera.
“Samples were collected for further confirmatory tests of this finding.
“Surveillance, contact tracing and risk assessment have commenced at the market and its environs, while the Enugu State Ministry of Health Emergency Operations Centre for Cholera outbreak response will be activated on Saturday 17th July 2021”.
