Number of cholera patients reaches 14 in Bukoba Municipality

KAGERA: BUKOBA District Commissioner Erasto Sima has said 14 patients have been confirmed to have contracted cholera in Bukoba Municipality, with one reported death, so far.

He appealed to citizens to take precautionary measures, including washing hands with soap, before taking any meal and doing the same after using toilet.

He has as well called upon residents in Bukoba Municipal Council to ensure that they boil or treat drinking water.

“The first cholera patient was reported on January 4, this year in Bakoba Ward’s Kafuti Street while other patients were reported from different areas. To-date, about eleven patients were treated and discharged while two patients were still admitted to Nshambya District Hospital for treatment,” he said.

Mr Sima said the fight against the pandemic must involve all residents.

“It is a matter of life and death. The only known cause for the deadly disease is dirt in all forms. First and foremost, proper sanitation is one of the tools against the disease. It requires the highest degree of personal hygiene. This can be done. Let us all take heed,” he said.

He said the agenda of keeping the environment clean should be permanent.

“This should  be routine for each household to ensure that they have decent toilets  and garbage is disposed forthwith,” he said.

He directed Municipal  health officials and Ward Executive Officers (WEOs) to ensure that surveillance teams are keeping a 24-hour monitoring and give a report on any suspected case. People should also be sensitized to maintain hygiene and drink boiled water, he said.

In December, last year (2023)  the number of patients confirmed to have contracted Cholera in Missenyi district   increased to seven patients with four confirmed deaths.

Four people died of the pandemic on November 29th, last  year at Bugorora Ward’s Buchurago village, in Missenyi district while five patients were earlier  admitted at the St Therese Omukajunguti hospital.

Meanwhile the Minister for Health Ms Ummy Mwalimu  has said  that six regions  are still facing cholera outbreak,  calling upon Regional Commissioners and health sector executives to  continue  instituting measures  to control the spread of the disease.

Ms Mwalimu named the regions as Shinyanga, Ruvuma, Tabora, Simiyu, Mwanza and Kagera.

According to the minister, in 2023 cholera  outbreak  was reported in 12 regions  of which 927 patients  and 27 deaths were  reported.

According to  the Ministry of Health (MoH) officials,  cholera is an infection of the bacterium Vibrio cholera. Symptoms  may range from none, mild, to  severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery  diarrhea that lasts a few days.

Vomiting and muscle cramps may also occur. Diarrhoea can be so severe that it leads within hours to severe dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. It is spread  mostly by water and food that has been contaminated with human feaces containing the bacteria.

Humans are the only mammals affected by  cholera while risk factors of the disease include poor sanitation, not enough clean drinking water and poverty. Prevention involves improved sanitation and access to clean water.

Being a water-borne  and filth- borne disease, cholera is no laughing matter. It is a highly contagious malady that can wreak havoc in a wider area within a very short span of time, leaving a trail of death in its wake.

Cholera affects an estimated 3-5 million people worldwide and causes 58,000- 130,000 deaths a year. It is downright disgraceful as the epidemic is all about coming into mouth contact with infected human faeces, he said.