How cholera outbreak ravaged Jigawa community
For residents of Zareku, a sleepy community in Miga Local Government Area of Jigawa State, last week Thursday would, for a very long time remain in their memory as a “strange cholera disease” attacked the community on the fateful day. 19 local government areas officially said to have been affected by cholera since the outbreak in the state.
The state recorded its first cholera outbreak on July 19, when over 30 persons were reported to have lost their lives and over 200 hospitalised. Since then, the infection has spread across the state, claiming more lives. As of Wednesday last week, the number of reported cholera cases reached 5,000, with 100 deaths.
The outbreak has nonetheless brought to the fore the buck-passing that usually characterises the handling of emergencies, as residents and government officials gave reasons for the escalation of the disease.
While relatives of the victims lamented the shortage of drugs and other medicals, the state government officials countered the claims and blamed what it described as the peoples’ apathy towards seeking medical attention in time before the situation gets out of hand.
Hassan Galadima, who spoke on behalf of the Galadima family, said his elder brother’s wife, who was the first victim of the outbreak, would have survived if the PHC in Zareku was functional and had drugs at the time she was taken to the facility.
“We took her to the facility on July 29 but they asked us to go home after first aid was given to her. But her condition deteriorated overnight and we returned her to the facility the following day. But she was not admitted due to lack of drugs to treat her at the centre,” Galadima said.
He said they had to take the patient to Jahun General Hospital in the neighbouring local government area, about 30 kilometres away.
“She gave up the ghost there, leaving behind a fourmonth-old baby and four other children. The following day, my younger sister, Adama Galadima, 16, also died from the disease. She died at home because we could not take her to the primary healthcare centre as we knew that there were no drugs there,” he said, in an emotional laden voice.
Hassan, however, said four other family members infected with the disease were responding to treatment at the centre, following supply of drugs to the facility.”
The Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Health, Dr Salisu Mu’azu, denied the claims of lack or shortage of drugs at a media parley.
The permanent secretary blamed the high casualty to the lukewarm attitude of the people to seek medical attention in times of illness.
He said that 90 per cent of the death from the cholera outbreak in the state occurred at homes, adding that it was difficult for health officials to ascertain the number of fatalities.
When Chronicle visited the village earlier in the week, Galadima was still at the Zareku healthcare facility, attending to some of the family members infected with the disease. He said the community recorded the fatalities before the arrival of drugs at the centre.
Similarly, a couple of victims were seen sharing mats right at the entrance of the healthcare centre, a development attributed to the acute shortage of beds to accommodate the surging number of outbreak patients at the facility.
One of the medical staff at the centre admitted that inadequate medical equipment at the commencement of the outbreak was responsible for the high rate of deaths recorded at the initial stage.
The staff member who preferred to be anonymous, pleaded for more equipment and medicals for the patients to enable the healthcare centre to handle the situation properly.
The Village Head of Zareku, Abdulkadir Ibrahim, said five persons passed away on Friday in the village, but the figure had risen to eight by Saturday and were all buried on the same day.
Abdullahi Jibrin, the councillor representing Zareku in the local government, said a big lesson had been learnt in the handling of such emergencies in future.