The Federal Ministry of Health on Wednesday donated medical commodities to the Zamfara State Government to control the spread of cholera in the state.
Dr. Akin Oyemakinde, the Chief Consultant Epidemiologist in the ministry, made the donation in Gusau on behalf of the Federal Government and said that the commodities would enhance efforts to fight the epidemic.
Oyemakinde said: “Drugs can only reduce the number of deaths arising from the disease outbreak but would not prevent it.
“People need to be enlightened on the preventive measures, one of which is boiling water for use.”
Also, Prof. Abdulsalem Nassidi, the Project Director of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, called for a thorough investigation of the source of the outbreak “for better prevention”.
Nassidi suggested that a house to house survey be conducted to know the accurate figure of cases and number of deaths.
He pledged the agency’s willingness to assist the state government in curbing the disease.
Receiving the donation, the state Commissioner for Health, Alhaji Muhammed Kabir, commended the Federal Government for the assistance to control the disease outbreak from escalating further.
Kabir said that the outbreak was first reported in September but that the government was still investigating the cause.
The commissioner gave an assurance that the state government would do all it could to curb the outbreak of the disease.
He said that there was no official figure of casualty arising from the outbreak but that government was collating the data.
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