Cholera kills eight in Plateau

Eight people have been confirmed dead in a cholera outbreak in Namu community of Qua’an Pan Local Government Area of Plateau State.

The victims were said to be among the over  7, 000 refugees  fleeing from the crisis in Nasarawa State who were sequestrated in several refugee  camps in the community.

Already, there are fears that the outbreak may spread to Jos and its environs following a prolonged shortage of water which has hit some areas of Jos and Bukuru metropolis for the past three months.

The shortage of water in Jos was said to have claimed the life of an eight-year old boy, who drowned in Gangare area of  Jos last week while in search of water. The situation was said to have been worsened by an alleged in-fighting between the State Water Board and the Ministry of Water Resources over the release of funds for the replacement of stolen cables that supply electricity to the Laminga Dam.

Executive Secretary of Plateau State Emergency Management Agency, Mr. Alhassan Barde, who spoke to our correspondent in Jos on Sunday, on the outbreak of the disease in the refugee camps, said that three other people were on danger list at a hospital in the area.

He said that the agency had been able to contain the spread of the  disease through the collaborative efforts of PLASEMA, NEMA and the Plateau State Ministry of Health.

Barde blamed the outbreak of the ailment on poor sanitary condition in the camps and the absence of clean and potable water.

The executive secretary said that through the efforts of the Nasarawa State government, most of the refugees had gone back to their homes as the state government had assisted some of them in rebuilding their homes

“By the time the outbreak of the disease was discovered eight people had died and three are currently in hospital. Through the collaborative efforts of the Plateau State government and the emergency management agencies, like the Red Cross, we have been able to contain the outbreak,” he said.

Barde said that the various governments were also collaborating to provide essential social amenities to the camps, while efforts were also being intensified to take some of the refugee to their homes, adding that such efforts had helped in reducing the number of the refugees to less than 4,000.

Also, the Plateau State Epidemiologist, Dr. Raymond Yuryit, confirmed the incident on Sunday.

Yuryit spoke while   receiving Barde, who had gone to assess the situation.

Juryit attributed the outbreak to overcrowding, dirty environment and the consumption of unhygienic food and water.