C’River moves to contain cholera outbreak

…1 confirms case in Biase, 2 in Obubra

The Cross River State government has notified the residents of an outbreak of cholera in Obubra and Biase Local Government Areas of the state.

Henry Ayuk, the health commissioner, who made this known, at the weekend, said Biase and Obubra were the two local government areas with confirmed cases of the disease so far, with one and two confirmed cases, respectively in the affected councils.

Consequently, the commissioner informed that an emergency operation centre was, on Friday, activated by his ministry, with the State Epidemiologist, Blessing Ekpenyong, appointed as incident manager to coordinate the process.

Ayuk also said that response commodities, including drugs donated by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) were being put in place by the surveillance unit and logistic management coordinating unit of the state ministry of health, with immediate effect would be positioned in the affected LGAs and wards.

The commissioner further disclosed that the local government area rapid response team had been deployed to affected wards for case investigation and line listing of reported cases to contain the spread of the disease.

While urging the public to adhere strictly to all measures against the disease by avoiding impure drinking water, ripened fruits and contaminated foods, the Commissioner assured that the State Rapid Response Team will always be on hand for deployment to any affected area should new cases be reported.