Eastern Region recorded cholera cases

Koforidua, Oct 21, GNA- Forty cases of cholera had been reported at the Koforidua Regional Hospital from Monday to Thursday. Thirty-six of the sick persons were students of the New Juaben College of Commerce (NJUACOCO) from where the first case was reported while the remaining four were from the adjoining communities. Dr Kojo Tinkorang, the Deputy Eastern Regional Director of Health Services, told the GNA in an interview on Friday that as at Friday morning, only two of the affected people were still on admission while the rest had been treated and discharged.

Dr Tinkorang said the first case was reported by a new student of the NJUACOCO who visited Accra on Monday afternoon and by Tuesday morning, 32 cases were reported from the school.

On Wednesday, four cases were reported from the nearby communities. Dr Tinkorang said the heath authorities moved into the school, inspected food and sanitary facilities at the school, organized health talks and gave the students and teachers prophylaxis treatment as a preventive measure.

He said as at Friday morning no new case had been reported at the school and the communities but the health authorities have started using public address systems and the FM radio stations to educate the public on personal hygiene and environmental sanitation.

Dr Tinkorang said he led a team of health workers to inspect the sanitary sites in the New Juaben Municipality to ensure that the disease did not spill over to other parts of the municipality.

He described what he saw at all the sanitary sites as "very bad and a danger to the community" and mentioned the communities the team visited as Betom, Zongo, Asokore-Kuma, Srodae and Effiduase. Dr Tinkorang called on the New Juaben Municipal Assembly to work hard to help improve upon the conditions at the sanitary sites. He said though no new cases had been reported, his outfit was maintaining a surveillance system because the incubation period of the cholera bacteria was three days.