Five Killed In Ogun Cholera Outbreak

An outbreak of Cholera in Abeokuta South and North local government areas of Ogun State has claimed five lives, reports have said. The state government confirmed the outbreak, but claimed that only one person died as a result of poor hygiene on the part of the residents. The outbreak, it was gathered was linked to a septic tank which spilled its content into major water sources in the area, thereby contaminating them. Residents of Abeokuta are now reportedly apprehensive about drinking water from water pipes in their areas. The State Commissioner for Health Dr. Olaokun Soyinka who confirmed the incident also named Abeokuta North and Abeokuta South council areas as being sources of the outbreak ”with poor sanitation, particularly faecal waste management.” Soyinka said, “there was a sudden upsurge in cases of gastroenteritis in some communities in Abeokuta, first noted on Friday, July 5. In a press release yesterday, the state government admitted that only one person had died as against reports of five deaths from some quarters. While tracing the source of the disease to poor level of hygiene, the state Ministry of Health added that it had moved to stem the outbreak in two communities in the state.