Watch what you eat

A public health specialist, Dr Emmanuel Dzotsi, has advised the public to be cautious of what they eat and drink during the Yuletide because cholera cases are still being reported at hospitals.

He said as people would be preparing salads using vegetables during the Christmas season, it was important that they wash the ingredients very well before eating, adding that if the food would not be eaten immediately, it should be preserved  in a refrigerator under the right temperature.

Dr Dzotsi, who was speaking in an interview with the Junior Graphic, said although there had been a reduction in the number of reported cholera cases, the factors that contributed to infection have still persisted.

He said until those factors – which include inadequate supply of safe drinking water in most communities, unhygienic street selling of water and food, poor liquid and waste disposal and poor personal hygiene – were addressed, people would continue to be infected by the disease.  

The weekly cholera updates show that as of December 5, 65 new cases including one death had been reported from 10 districts in three regions of Ghana. According to the report, the Upper East and West regions are on the verge of declaring the outbreak over, since no new cases had been reported for the past two to three weeks in the regions.

Since the cholera outbreak in June, this year, 28,178 cases resulting in 218 deaths have been reported from 130 districts in all the 10 regions of the country.

Dr Dzotsi noted that one could not be sure of the personal hygiene of people who sold on the street so it was important for the public not to patronise such foods and water.

He said the cholera germ might exist in poor insanitary conditions which might contaminate food and water sources.

He added that most homes did not have toilet facilities and engaged in open defecation, which contaminated the environment, while some people constructed toilet facilities right on drains, which promoted the spread of cholera.

Dr Dzotsi said if the risk factors were not addressed although the cholera outbreak would have reduced, in no time there would be the recurrence of the disease.

He said to ensure that the spread of the disease was stopped, other sectors such as the ministry responsible for water, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies should do their work well.

More importantly, he said it was an individual responsibility to practise good personal hygiene and not buy food and water from insanitary conditions.

Dr Dzotsi said parents should monitor what their children ate and drank, and in schools where there were no water, students should be provided with safe drinking water to take to school.