Health Officers to ensure cholera does not spread

Dr George Mensah, in-charge of the Accra Metropolitan Health Service, on Monday advised public health officers to ensure cholera does not spread in the metropolis by enforcing the laws on sanitation.

He said now that it was raining daily environmental sanitation was necessary adding that: “your main focus should be on the food vendors by the gutters.” Dr Mensah gave the advice when he met with all health officers in the 11 sub-metros in Accra to deliberate on the outbreak of cholera.

He said every health officer must be aware of cholera and its dangers and intensify the education on it to ensure that Accra would not record any casualty due to the disease.

Dr Simpson Anim Boateng, Public Health Director of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, in an interview with the GNA, expressed happiness that Accra did not record any case of cholera last year because of the officers' hard work though one case was recorded recently.

He said to ensure success; every household must have a toilet facility and tasked the health officers to enforce the laws. He said a task force would go round to focus mainly on food vendors in unhygienic conditions and seize their food when found guilty.

Dr Philip Lamptey, Chairman of the AMA Sub-Committee on Environmental Sanitation, urged the health officers to work harder to maintain the success that was chalked last year.