Gombe Begins Water Chlorination To Prevent Cholera Spread

The Gombe State Government has started distributing chlorine to the 11 local government areas as part of measures to check cholera spread.

The Waste Manager of the Gombe State Environmental Protection Agency, Dr Umar Musa, made this known during an interview with NAN in Gombe.

Mr Musa said that wells, stagnant ponds, and reservoirs were targeted, while areas that fetch water from rivers would get aqua tabs “since they cannot chlorinate a running river or stream.”
He added that they would be given the aqua tab, and the personnel handling the chlorination would teach them how to apply it to their drinking water.

He explained that “chlorine is a measure to mitigate cholera spread because it will destroy pathogens in water, which contain the bacterium vibrio cholerae, which causes cholera infection and other water-borne diseases.”

The manager, who said the chlorine distribution would continue until December, added that “110 trained personnel are handling the distribution of chlorine and the aqua tab to communities. The use of chlorine was the preventive method Gombe State also adopted in 2023, and it yielded positive results because no single case of cholera was recorded. In 2023, however, the distribution was only to hot spots, but this time around, we expanded to other areas and increased the quantity from six to 10 drums. Chlorination is a proactive measure against gastroenteritis and cholera, which is a water-borne disease.”

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Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Habu Dahiru, said, “So far, of the cases of gastroenteritis recorded in the state, none turned out positive for Vibrio cholerae. What we are doing in Gombe is more of preventive measures because people travelled during Sallah and on their return they may habour the organism, hence the need for prevention.”

The commissioner emphasised the need for safe water and basic sanitation and hygiene practices to prevent and control cholera transmission and other waterborne diseases.