Friday 19th July, 2019
Seth Danquah, GNA
Takoradi, July 19, GNA – Mr Dennis Jubin,
Disease Surveillance Officer at the Western Regional Public Health Division,
has hinted that his outfit has put up a rapid response team to conduct
investigations into any cholera cases and manage the cases as they arise.
He also announced that they have sent test
kits (cholera RDT) to all health facilities in the Region for quick detection
of acute diarrhoea and tasked the facilities to keep an update their cholera
epidemic plans.
Mr Jubin who gave the hint in an interview
when the Ghana News Agency visited his outfit to find out about their
preparedness to manage cholera incident should there be an outbreak, said the
team put in place comprised of environmental health workers, lab technicians,
public health/disease control officers, a medical officer and a public health
nurse.
According to him, as the rains have started
and with its attendant floods, together with other existing risk factors, the
probability of cholera outbreak was very high, hence the need to put in place
measures to control it should there be an outbreak.
He said all the districts have been
entreated upon to strengthen diarrhoea disease surveillance and intensify
laboratory investigations on suspected cholera cases, ensure that the districts
health facilities used case definition to suspect and investigate cholera and
other epidemic prone diarrhoea diseases, and update emergency preparedness and
response plans on cholera and other diarrhoea diseases.
He further said his outfit had made the
various districts to update their respective plans, mount public education on
the prevention of cholera and diarrhoea diseases as well as engage and initiate
advocacy dialogue with the water sector and other relevant institutions for
access to safe water and improved sanitation.
Mr Jubin said the DivisionÂ
has also embarked on radio sensitization on the possibility of cholera
outbreak and the need to guard against it as well as hold public health emergency
management committee meeting to brief participants on the possible outbreak and
how cases should be managed in case of an outbreak.
GNA
