About two weeks after Cross River reported a decline in Cholera incidence in the state, There have been eight confirmed cases of probable cholera in Edo State.
The UBTH (University of Benin Teaching Hospital) admitted. Tuesday, Dr. Stephenson Ojeifo, the state director of public health for the ministry of health, made the announcement. Out of the sixteen patients hospitalised to UBTH, he mentioned eight as possible cases. Working in tandem with the World Health Organization (WHO) team, they swiftly sent personnel to the hospital to assess the patients’ conditions and determine the best course of action.
In all, sixteen individuals were admitted to the UBTH. In his account, a Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) was administered to each of them. Although eight of the samples did not react to the RDT, the other eight did, hence the test is not a confirming one.
After those eight tested positive for the fast diagnostic, the next step is to gather samples from each of them. Confirmatory testing has been initiated by sending samples to Abuja’s National Reference Laboratory. We will not declare any positive cholera cases in Edo state, he said, until that result is out.
The Situation So Far
Every single patient at UBTH has been discharged since Thursday, with the exception of the one patient who is still in the ward. At the same time, Edo people need not be alarmed, according to Dr. Ojeifo. He reassured the public that the state administration was handling the matter efficiently with the help of the WHO’s local representatives. Those they came into touch with, as well as everyone else, are being constantly watched, he said.
The activation of the surveillance system for contact tracing and line listing was also reported by the Director of Public Health. He elaborated by saying that community awareness efforts have helped people understand their actions leading up to the occurrences. In spite of his calls for people to keep themselves clean and well-hygienic, Stephenson stressed the importance of reporting any suspected cases to the local hospital or health centre.
Also revealed by Dr. Ojeifo was the fact that 36 individuals have perished in the state due to Lassa fever since the start of the year. Out of 2,300 suspected instances documented in the state, he claimed 226 had been confirmed. To make sure the state is free of Lassa disease, he said the state government was getting ready to kill the rats that cause it.
