<<Print>>

Three persons have so far died of suspected cholera in Bawku while 48 others are being treated of the same ailment at health facilities in the Municipality. Some schools in the area have also been closed due to the situation. Statistics gathered by the Bawku Municipal Health Directorate from the various health facilities indicates that the suspects who reported to the facilities were mostly people who attended a funeral at Gengande community in the Bawku municipality. Mrs Rosemond Azure, Bawku Municipal Health Director, disclosed this in an interview with Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Bawku on Friday. She cautioned the people to practice good personal hygiene. She said samples from the suspected cases had been sent to the Upper East Regional Hospital in Bolgatanga for further examination and confirmation. Mrs Azure explained that the cholera disease spreads from person to person due to poor personal hygiene and urged the people to ensure that they kept their environment clean and wash their hands after visiting the toilet and before eating. She hinted that the directorate was putting up pragmatic measures including public education such as community durbars, home visits education, and community sensitization fora to alert the people on the possibility of an outbreak of the disease if they failed to practise good personal hygiene. She said health personnel had been dispatched to the affected communities that did not have health facilities close by, to diagnose and treat affected persons. She urged the people to send friends and relatives who had diarrhoea and were vomiting to the nearest health facilities for medical attention and they should also ensure that Oral Rehydration Salt (ORS) was kept in their homes for emergencies. Mr Nelson Awini, Medical Officer in charge of the Ever- Joy Health Centre in one of the affected communities, disclosed that five cases were reported last September and five more in October while five new cases had to be referred to the Presbyterian Hospital in Bawku due to shortage of logistics at the centre. He lamented on the delay of payment of claims by the National Health Insurance Authority and said it was a major challenge to some health facilities.