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DESPITE the high number of cases recorded in Ogun State as hospitalized for intestinal illnesses similar to
cholera, health commissioner Olaokun Soyinka denied reports of cholera outbreak in the state.
According to Dr. Soyinka, 104 cases had been ‘line listed’ as Gastroenteritis” since the outbreak in June.
Gastroenteritis is a condition characterised by inflammation of the gastro-intestinal tract. It affects both the stomach and the small intestine, resulting in a combination of diarrhoea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
“There is an outbreak of vomiting and stooling some of which are Cholera and some of which are not, Soyinka said, adding that a “vast majority of the patients tested have no cholera, only three patients have tested positive to cholera.”
The health commissioner said that the government received an alert on June 27 when a patient tested positive for cholera at the Sacred Heart Hospital, Lantoro, Abeokuta.
Ogun State government said 76 cases were line listed in Abeokuta South, 25 in Abeokuta North, two cases in Odeda and a case in Obafemi Owode Local Government Areas, and that 3 deaths were recorded in Abeokuta South.
Soyinka said that government had put measures in place to contain the epidemic, adding that that the state government also provided free kits for the treatment of the disease, He noted that health workers at the local government level had begun awareness campaign on the epidemic.
Dr. Soyinka said action has been taken to contain further spread of the disease.
Majority of the areas where the outbreak was recorded in Ijaiye, Abeokuta South, and Adedotun area in Abeokuta North lacked toilet facilities, Soyinka said.
Reports indicate that many victims of the health hazard have been placed on admission in several public and private health centers across the state.