Dr Philip Narh, the Medical Superintendent of the Ada East District Hospital, has revealed that every resident of the district is at risk of contracting cholera due to the escalating of the disease in the area.
Dr Narh reported that every community in the district had already recorded the disease.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview, he emphasised that houseflies were the primary carriers of the disease, transferring faecal matter from open defecation areas to food and water sources.
“This innocent ingestion of contaminated food leads to cholera infection. Moreover, a handshake can also be a means of spreading the disease if proper hygiene practices are not followed. So, cholera is simply the ingestion of someone’s faecal matter,” he stressed.
Dr Narh explained that a handshake could be one of the ways to spread the disease, as one may unknowingly shake hands with someone who has not properly washed their hands after using the restroom.
“When someone visits the restroom and doesn’t properly clean themselves, they may touch door handles, which can easily spread the disease when another person comes into contact with it,” he explained.
According to him, the pollution of water bodies in the district is another significant concern, adding that open defecation was also a worrying trend as rainwater carries faecal matter into water sources, contaminating them and putting users at risk.
“When people openly defecate and it rains, the water carries the faeces into the water bodies, contaminating them for users,” he said.
The medical superintendent stressed the importance of personal responsibility in preventing the spread of cholera, encouraging the people of Ada to maintain good hygiene practices, such as proper handwashing and sanitation, to curb the menace.
The residents of Ada East and Ada West districts were facing a health crisis as cholera infection spreads rapidly across the districts, as data from the Ghana Health Service indicates that 43 persons have been confirmed to have cholera, out of which two deaths have been recorded.
This outbreak is part of a larger global concern, with the International Coordinating Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision reporting a significant increase in cholera cases worldwide since 2021.
The ICG urged governments, donors, and partners to invest in access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, as well as vaccine production to combat this preventable and treatable disease.
GNA
