Adamawa - The Ministry of Health in Adamawa on Monday said it recorded a few cases of cholera outbreak in some local government areas of the state.
Dr Chidama Barka, the state's Director for Disease Control, said in Yola on Monday that the cases were recorded in Lamurde, Ganye and some parts of Numan, all in Adamawa.
Barka, who attributed the outbreak to dirtiness associated with the indiscriminate dumping of refuse,said that the cases were quickly treated and contained effectively.
The director expressed concern over what he described as the ugly attitude of rampant dumping of refuse by the people.
He said that the lack of commitment by the community towards environmental sanitation had contributed to the re-emergence of the killer infection in the state.
``The cases were recorded in Lamurde, Ganye and some parts of Numan, and we are able to contain them in time.
``Even though, there is no report of death, the ugly head is not buried, because refuse is still dumped around and potable water is also limited to the people.
``After laboratory tests, almost all the sachet water products on our major streets contain some contaminant agents which are harmful, while empty polythene bags also poise danger to the environment.''
He said that since government alone could not afford to provide potable water for all, the private sector should step in.
The director said issues of environmental sanitation and provision of potable water for the people of the state cannot be done by the state government alone.
``We have to come out collectively to find ways and means of making our environment clean and providing safe drinking water for our communities.''
He explained that there was the need for non-governmental organisations to join government in providing drinkable water and on environmental sanitation issues to make people free from illness.
He said that increasing the number of commercial water vendors in the state would not solve the problem.
Barka said it would rather compound the situation because many of the private water vendors lacked standard requirements for the business.
NAN
