Cholera: The unstoppable agent of mass death

Last weekend, there was yet another outbreak of the deadly cholera in Maiduguri and Jere Local Government Areas of Borno State. This came barely days after the scourge ransacked residents in Biu Local Government of the state, killing no fewer than 100 persons of different sex and age. Within a matter of days, six persons […]

Last weekend, there was yet another outbreak of the deadly cholera in Maiduguri and Jere Local Government Areas of Borno State. This came barely days after the scourge ransacked residents in Biu Local Government of the state, killing no fewer than 100 persons of different sex and age.
Within a matter of days, six persons died in two days following the latest outbreak. Cholera, an acute diarrhoea, is said to be caused by a bacteria called vibrio cholerae, from which the name ‘cholera’ was apparently derived has since become a global killer with no age restriction and which spreads like wild fire across boundaries.
The outbreak of the disease in Borno State may be traceable to a spread from neighbouring Adamawa State in September, 2009, during which the disease reportedly killed many in that state. By end of that month (September), Madube village in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State was immediately affected apparently since the place shares boarder with some parts of Adamawa. Within a short while, many residents of the area were attacked by cholera- perhaps since the area is densely populated with relatively poor sanitary condition and unclean water – typical of that found in rural settlements where residents mostly drink whatever water is available to them. Not only Madube shares boundary with Adamawa, another local government, Biu, equally shares the same and it was notoriously attacked by the same cholera. Many persons became victims and in a matter of days over 1000 cases where recorded, out of which about 100 persons died. Treatment and isolation camp was immediately established along Gombe road where victims were moved for treatment. Many didn’t get out alive while others did having benefited from drugs donated by individuals, government and donor agencies.
Perhaps many thought the cholera strike was over until last weekend when six persons died between last Monday and Tuesday, bringing to 78, the number of persons who died in one month courtesy of the deadly disease.
Records at a treatment and isolation camp established for victims at Ngaranm-bulabulin ward in Maiduguri showed that a total of 795 cases were recorded between 16th October, 2009 (when the camp was opened) and 17th November, 2009 out of which 78 persons died bringing the minimum death toll to two persons per day. It was gathered that following the fresh outbreak, over 20 persons reported to the camp out of whom three persons died on Monday and another three died on Tuesday. The names of those who died on Tuesday were given as Abba Sheriff, 8 years; Gambo Haruna, 35 years and Ya Fanna Musa, aged 50. Sixteen victims were counted by our correspondent at the camp with some of them appearing to be in critical situations.
Kanem Trust correspondent who visited the camp last Tuesday reports that some of the victims were in pains, lying down on plastic mats placed on open ground as there were neither beds nor mattresses while others were on similar mats inside the only tent at the camp, all within an area demarcated by the camp officials to restrict access to the victims in order to prevent the spread of the disease. Some others were seated in different areas on open ground at the camp. Officials were seen fumigating victims as well as persons who go into the restricted areas.
The environment looked untidy especially the makeshift pit toilet, which is a hole with two planks kept side by side to make an outlet, being used by the victims and around which  was oozing out very unpleasant  smell.
Relations of some of the victims were in grief, many recalled how they lost their loved ones, with others afraid of losing their loved ones.
Alhaji Ali Goni, a resident of Ngaranm in Maiduguri could not hold back tears while narrating how he lost four members of his household to cholera last month. He lost one of his wives, Hajiya Yabalu Goni who was 40 years old and three of his children,Yasarah,30 years old, Alhaji Buka,two years old and Baba Goni also two years old. He narrated that members of his household woke up on that fateful day expecting it to be like any other day. Unknown to them, the deadly cholera had come knocking on their door. Early in the morning, he said, Yabalu, his wife started vomiting and purging and she was subsequently joined by three other children. They were all rushed to Umaru Shehu Musa hospital but doctors at the hospital referred them to the isolated cholera camp, confirming to the family that they had fallen victims of the epidemic. Goni said he was afraid, though he kept on hoping his family would survive but none did, he recalled in anguish- all were swept by cholera due to lack of medical personnel and non availability of drugs at the isolated camp.
Muhammed Bello, a relative to Abba, one of the victims of last weekend’s outbreak, recalled that he brought his brother (Abba) to the camp eight days ago after he noticed that he was vomiting and purging persistently. He however said that the brother was fast recuperating because he was attended to by health officials at the camp.
A curious aspect of the development was government’s seeming slow response because drugs, bought with about one hundred and thirty five million naira contributed by the 27 local government areas of the state (each, paying N5m) were only allocated after media reports of the fresh outbreak last week by which time people had started dying again. Allocating the drugs, which was done on Wednesday, just the following morning after the media reports, gave the impression that the drugs may have since been bought but not keenly distributed which could have restricted the spread of the disease.
Borno State Commissioner for Health, Alhaji Zubairu Maina however said while the drugs were being allocated at a brief gathering in Maiduguri on Wednesday, the state government had done so much since the outbreak in September, 2009. Maina noted that as soon as the disease struck in the state, he was quick to refer to the deputy governor after which measures were taken which included the establishment of treatment camps and allocation of drugs. He said the epidemic was not foreseen by government. He also said that local government made voluntary contributions given the fact the residents across the state were exposed to the disease. He said he was optimistic that the drugs would contain the outbreak.
While tongues still wag as to whether or not the Borno government acted rightly on the management of the epidemic, residents across many parts of the state appeared to have contributed immensely to the repeated outbreak of diseases in the state. Across many areas such as Bulunkutu, Gwange, Hausari, Bolori and Lamisula, thousands of people, mostly residing in compacted houses built in clearly unplanned locations have long formed the habit of dumping refuse on virtually every where including their abodes.
The resultant effect of this is the predominance of filth all over, resulting into spread of deadly diseases such as cholera.
Health authorities have attributed the recent cholera outbreak as well as that which ravaged Biu and Gwoza to poor environmental sanitation especially water stampede caused by blockage of drainages because many residents dump refuse into drainages arbitrarily.
With filth all over the place, wells which are the major sources of water across many of these settlements become organically contaminated and that perhaps means, massive drinking of filthy water with cholera as a guaranteed consequence.
Government, as many observers say, may not also be absolved in this regard given the inability of many tiers to provide safe and accessible drinking water to the populace especially in rural areas where many are low income earners who cannot afford good medical service beside what they get in primary health care centres.
The state and local government areas in Borno State always claim they have done so much in the area of water supply even though the recent outbreaks of cholera in parts of the state seem to prove otherwise.