<i>”The only active case we have at the moment had been picked up on Sunday and he is going to be discharged tomorrow (Wednesday).”</sub>
The Chairman of the Community Development Committee, CDC, in Magboro, Oluwasegun Oladosu, says at least 25 persons have died of cholera in the community.
Mr Oladosu told journalists on Tuesday that 15 deaths were recorded in Arepo, Akeran, Akintonde, Sofolarin and Abule-Oko communities, all in Magboro, Obafemi-Owode local government area of Ogun State.
He said about 10 persons, who relocated from Magboro to Kara in Ifo local government of the state, have equally died of cholera.
He added that commercial motorcyclists (Okada riders), whom he claimed are mostly of Hausa extraction, “were the most hit by the outbreak”.
“Hausas don’t release dead bodies, they have rushed to bury them. A number of them are already fleeing the community. But the information we have now is that 15 people are already dead,” Mr Oladosu said.
“Forget about tribe, we have been living here with Hausas for a long time, peacefully. But, some of them had travelled recently and they just returned, especially the Okada riders.
“They will always tell you the truth. Some of them came with the disease. Some of them who ran to Kara (Hausa settlement), we learnt 10 of them are dead.”
A total of 65,145 suspected cases of cholera, including 2,141 deaths, have been reported from 23 states and the FCT as of September 2, according to the <a target=”_blank” href=”http://ncdc.gov.ng”>NCDC</a>.
Mr Oladosu said a government team had visited Magboro community and provided drugs for cholera treatment and prevention.
He, however, called on the government to ensure they always enforce sanitation in all the communities.
Government reacts
But Tomi Coker, the health commissioner, said no cholera fatality has been recorded in the state in the last 24 hours.
“I don’t know where that information is coming from, but definitely, such a number of people are not dead, because we haven’t had any reported death in the last 24 hours; and there is no active case,” she told PREMIUM TIMES over the phone, responding to the claim that 25 people people had died of cholera.
“The bacteria is transmitted from faeces to the mouth. The situation at Kara cattle market could not cause it if people do not defecate in the open. And secondly, when some people go to the toilet, they don’t wash their hands.”
Mrs Coker, however, said the government has set up a treatment centre in Magboro and has engaged the traditional ruler to keep the people informed, safe, and calm.
On the exact number of casualties, the Commissioner said, “We are still investigating. The public health officers are out there investigating and I will wait for the report.”