The cholera pandemic in Niger state has spread to 16 local government areas while no fewer than 409 people have been infested by the disease.
The Commissioner for Primary Health Care, Dr. Ibrahim Ahmed Dangana, disclosed this while speaking to newsmen during the unveiling of a sensitisation on the measles – rubella in Minna on Friday.
Dangana said although the death toll still remained at thirteen, the state government had put in place necessary measures to contain the spread of the infection.
“We have identified isolation and treatment centers across all the 25 local government councils, not just Minna. The government has made available essential supplies of drugs and medicines, including intravenous fluids, to all the treatment centres.
“I want to emphasise that the treatment is free-of-charge to all the patients; we are not charging, because we want to quickly control the situation,” he said.
He pointed out that other majors put in place included the stakeholders’ meeting of the state multi-sectoral committee on epidemic preparedness and response, adding that the Ministry of Health was working closely with the relevant ministries such as Environment, Water and Sanitation as well as all the development partners in the state.
He commended development partners, including UNICEF, WHO and others, for their support to the state government, saying that the government would sustain the synergy.
Dangana advised the people to be conscious of their personal hygiene as well as environmental hygiene, urging them to be wearing of their water sources and to ensure that they sanitised water before consumption.
“People should not practise open defaecation; people should stop dumping refuse in the rain, because some people are in the habit of dumping refuse in the rain so that the rain will wash down the refuse. It is a very bad practice,” he added.