The Environmental Health Officers Association of Nigeria (EHOAN), Lagos State chapter, has cautioned residents of the state on the need to take proper preventive action in view of the current wave of cholera outbreak in the state.
President of the association, Dr. Akinyele Cyril Babasope, in a press statement issued on behalf of the association and made available to the Nigerian Tribune, urged residents to step up efforts at ensuring that their environments are clean.
He also advised persons who develop symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting to report to the approved health facilities immediately.
He said that all hands of members of the association are on deck to prevent further spread of the cholera.
Akinyele, who restated the readiness of the association to collaborate with the state government to avert the epidemic said the health workers in the state will continue to maintain a high index of suspicion for cholera and other diseases while consistently observing standard protocols for infection prevention and control.
Akinyele explained that the outbreak is as a result of habit of defecating in an open places, as well as discharging fecal matter into the drainage, constituting harm to humans health.
He added that when people defecate in an open environment during rainy season, most of the drinking water sources and other day-to-day activities became contaminated and subsequently resulted in cholera outbreak and other water diseases.
He appealed to members of the public to own the process by ensuring that proper toilet facilities are provided in residences and when people are outdoors, public toilets or mobile toilets must be used.
“I want to emphasise the importance of maintaining high standards of hygiene and taking proactive measures to prevent cholera outbreak in order to ensure the health and wellbeing of the citizens,” he said.
It will be recalled that cases of severe gastroenteritis have been reported in communities around Lagos Island, Eti-Osa, Ikorodu and Kosofe local government areas of the state, resulting in about 60 hospital admissions while some persons have been reported dead.
The Lagos EHOAN used the medium to call on all Heads, Department of Environmental Health Services across the 20 local government areas and LCDAs to immediately start sensitisation on how to curb the spread and inform the public of how to control and prevent the occurrence of this cholera outbreak.
Akinyele urged residents of the state to adopt the preventive measures and report any suspected cases promptly to safeguard the entire community.
“We are intensify efforts to curb the spread and we are admonishing residents to support the state government’s efforts by adhering strictly to precautionary measures, cooperating with environmental health officers and participating in community-wide sanitation activities to mitigate the spread of cholera,” Akinyele said.
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