Cholera: How to avoid being infected
Between January to date, the country has witnessed cholera outbreaks leading may cases of hospitalization and deaths.
Cholera is a disease of the intestinal system caused by a bacteria called Vibrio cholera, said Dr Dawal Kwande Solomon , a Consultant Family Physician. He said it is usually transmitted through the faeco oral route which means ‘from faeces to mouth’ or from hands contaminated with the bacteria put in the mouth.
“Once the bacterial is transmitted from either food, water or any other sources contaminated with the bacteria into the mouth , it then has the propensity of igniting the disease process in the individual,” he explained.
While there are numerous causes of vomiting and diarrhea, in the case of cholera, “the frequency of the passage of the watery stool is actually quite significant , said Dr Solomon.
“It happens more than three times a day, and the volume is usually very high as well. So typically the diarrhea in cholera is described as ‘rice water stool.’ The diarrhea people affected usually pass is not necessarily what they take in at that particular time but because the bacteria can drain water from the person’s body, and the person passes it as stool and vomiting,” the medical expert said.
Narrating her experience with the disease to Daily Trust during the recent outbreak in Yobe, that commenced on March 27th, Fatima Salah from Sarkin Hausawa ward, Gashua town, said it started with a mild diarrhea accompanied by vomiting one evening that later got out of hand.
“Thank God I was aware of the outbreak, so I asked my son to take me to the hospital. It wasn’t more than two hours when I realized it, but I was very weak and dehydrated even before we arrived the hospital. Thank God that I made it alive but I lost my neighbor,” she said.
She said that about three people died in her neighborhood and were buried at home. “Before people could realise that it was cholera, it has already claimed lives”, she added.
Another patient, Malam Adamu, said he was taken to the hospital unconscious but has now recovered.
He said that the cholera outbreak has been reoccurring every year in the six wards of the local government but that government was not doing anything to tackle the situation.
“Our people are dying every year from the scourge. Government is aware that the major cause is water contamination. Our only source of water , is the shallow boreholes drilled by private owners. These boreholes are all drilled on refuse dumps. So the water we fetch is already contaminated” he added.
He called on the state government to look into their plight and drill standard boreholes to save them from the annual disease outbreak.
Dr Dawal Kwande Solomon said someone taking dirty water and being where there is an outbreak is at high risk of being infected either from food , water, or any other contaminated sources.
He said the ways people can protect themselves from getting the disease is through personal hygiene and environmental hygiene.
According to the physician, maintaining personal hygiene means that “you should always wash your hand with soap and water or where there is no soap , you could use ash.”
He said environmental hygiene involves clearing away dirty water and making sure the water that one consumes is treated , through boiling or using chemicals like Water Guard or other chlorinated solutions before ingesting, in order to kill the bacteria in the water.
He advised people taking caring of anyone presenting with diarrhea and vomiting to wash their hands very well whenever they come in contact with the person’s clothing and faeces.
Dr Solomon said government has an important role to play in terms of general community water supply and providing some of the agents for people to treat the water they use especially during an outbreak . “They also have a role to play in mobilizing epidemiologists and people in the public health sector who can identify the source of the infection. Once the source is identified, and treated, people are protected from acquiring the disease,” he said.
The physician said the main treatment for cholera involves replacing the lost fluid and electrolytes that the individual has lost like using appropriate drips for instance. He warned that cholera is not a disease that can be managed at home and that once symptoms of cholera is suspected the individual should be taken to the hospital.
“If it is not treated fast and also with the right fluid, it is a disease that can quickly lead to somebody’s death,” he said.