Cholera: Physicians Task Schools, Parents On Personal Hygiene

Two Lagos-based physicians have urged parents and school management to maintain optimal hygiene to avoid the spread of cholera.

They gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos, following the outbreak of cholera in the state and some states across the country.

According to them, this is necessary since most schools will resume on Wednesday after the mid-term break and the Sallah holiday.

A general physician consultant, Dr Gerald Chinasa, said the disease could spread fast in schools if preventive measures were not in place.

Chinasa said that pupils, particularly the younger ones, were at higher risk of contracting cholera, a food and water-borne disease caused by the ingestion of the vibrio cholera bacteria.

Also, a consultant family and lifestyle medicine physician, Dr Moyosore Makinde, cautioned against the consumption of contaminated foods and water to avoid contracting cholera infection.

Makinde, who is also the president of Society of Lifestyle Medicine of Nigeria (SOLONg), said that consumption of contaminated foods and water remained the major means to contract cholera.

According to her, highly dedicated personal hygiene, which entails safe drinking water and consumables, remains the only means to prevent the contraction of cholera.