BEWARE: 350 cholera cases recorded in Accra; 2 dead

• Posted on July 22, 2014
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

An outbreak of cholera has left two persons dead and 350 more visiting hospitals in Accra to report suffering the disease caused by poor hygiene.

The figures, according to Deputy Director of Health for the Greater Accra Region Dr. John Eleaza has been recorded in the last three weeks in four out of Greater Accra’s 16 districts.

Speaking to JOY NEWS, he mentioned Accra Metro which has recorded 274, Ga West, 14, La Dade-Kotopon Municipal Assembly 58 and Ledzokuku-Krowor Municipal District which has 4 casestricts.

The outbreak confirms fears expressed by the Ghana Health Service in May which said a breakdown in waste management and increasingly dirty capital could spark an epidemic as the rainy season began.

“It is the filth everywhere and the lack of hygiene among our people,” the Deputy Director said noting that some patients have been victims of the disease despite using pipe-born water.

“Unfortunately we have some of our pipelines going through some of these drains…some of them are broken”, he told Joy News’ Beatrice Adu.

He is advising Ghanaians to be circumspect and practice proper hygiene to prevent a deterioration of the outbreak. He also advised taxi drivers to disinfect their cars after conveying victims to the hospital.

After reporting a total of 10,628 cases by the close of 2011 and a total of 105 deaths, Ghana was ranked fifth most cholera-endemic country in Africa after The Democratic Republic of Congo.

Cholera is an acute diarrhoea illness caused by the bacteria Vibrio cholerae that can result in a profound and rapidly progressive dehydration and death.

An untreated person with cholera may produce 10-20 liters of faecal matter a day with fatal results.

-JOYNEWS