Due to the current wave of cholera outbreak in Lagos, Ondo and some other parts of the Country, the Environmental Health Officers Association of Nigeria (EHOAN) Osun State Chapter has called on residents of the state to adopt the preventive measures and report to the nearest healthcare facility any suspected case promptly to safeguard the entire state.
This clarion call was contained in a press statement issued and made available to newsmen on Tuesday by the State President and Secretary of the Association, Sanitarian Ola Sunday Olufemi and Sanitarian Akinola Raphael Olutayo.
According to EHOAN, “we are intensifying efforts to prevent outbreak of the disease and we encourage residents to demonstrate their unalloyed support to Governor Ademola Adeleke’s led administration in Osun by strict adherence to precautionary measures, cooperate with Environmental Health Officers and always participate in community-wide sanitation activities to prevent outbreak of cholera.
“Yes, it is true that there is cholera outbreak in some parts of the Country with several deaths and hospitalisation reported, that is why we are calling on the entire residents of Osun to reduce the risk of cholera infection as we recommended to every citizen of the state to drink clean and safe water, avoid food from street vendors, improperly washed fruits and raw vegetables, improperly cooked food particularly sea foods, ensure proper disposal of waste, regular hand washing with soap and running water, cook food thoroughly, avoid close contact with people suffering from diarrhea, report suspected cases promptly, avoid open defecation while houses without toilet/ latrine should provide it as a matter of responsibility and law as important parts of the preventive measures”.
The Osun EHOAN who emphasized the need for every citizen of the state to support the state government in making Osun the most hygienic state in the country said the Environmental Health Officers will continue to move round the state to sensitize the people in order to avert the epidemic.
The statement added that, Governor Adeleke recently declared zero tolerance for dirty environment in Osun, hence the call for all the people of the state to collaborate with the state government in creating hygienic environment as cleaniness is next to Godliness.
The statement further called on Baba Loja and Iya Loja of the markets across the state to sensitize the market traders and, union chairmen at motor and motorcycle parks to do same to support government to avert cholera outbreak in the state.
The statement also enjoins religious leaders and schools in the state to comply with the measures put in place by the government, the statement concluded.
