Lagos, WHO battle cholera outbreak at Kirikiri prison

The Lagos State government has announced additional assistance from the World Health Organisation (WHO) as it battles a cholera outbreak at Kirikiri prison.

The Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, disclosed this during a recent update on the cholera outbreak in Lagos State.

Abayomi said the ministry was able to supply Kirikiri Medium Prison with intravenous fluids, infection prevention, and other health consumables.

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“Additionally, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has donated 10,000 doses of pharmaceuticals which have been delivered to the prison to support prison health facilities with prevention strategies for about 3,200 inmates if required,” Abayomi said.

“Immediate water and sanitation issues have been corrected, and there are ongoing inspections of other correctional facilities in the state.”

Abayomi also disclosed that the recent cholera outbreak in Lagos resulted from unregulated street beverages and contaminated water supplies, identified as the primary sources two weeks ago.

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According to him, the numerous samples collected from commonly sold street beverages by undercover environmental officers from the Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) and the Ministry of Health in the affected regions verified the existence of Vibrio cholerae bacteria, responsible for causing cholera.

“All of containers had no NAFDAC accreditation numbers, indicating they are small cottage backyard informal production units. Identifying the precise location of manufacture has proven difficult and the directorate of environmental health is planning to seal any such unregulated manufacture and make arrests of anybody involved with the manufacture or distribution of beverages without NAFDAC numbers,” Abayomi said.

Abayomi also disclosed that while no new deaths attributable to cholera had been reported in the past 72 hours, the government was escalating efforts to eradicate transmission entirely.

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He added that the decrease in new daily cases and the absence of recent deaths showed that interventions were yielding results and noted the crucial role of residents adhering to public health information and advice regarding safety measures and promptly seeking healthcare when symptoms arise.

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