Nine people have died in a cholera outbreak in Akpoha community, Afikpo North local government area of Ebonyi State.
Many other people from the area have been hospitalized and are receiving treatment at various hospitals in the country.
Official reports put the number of people hospitalized at 30 but residents said the number could be higher.
The state government on Sunday deployed the State Rapid Response Team to the community to help control the situation.
The local government chairman, Uchenna Ibiam, led a team that included staff from the Department of Health and the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) to the community.
Addressing village headmen, men, women and youth of the Akpoha community, the council leader was concerned about the unexpected deaths of some children.
He appealed to the people of the area not to panic as the situation is under control.
He commended the state government for responding quickly especially sending the Rapid Response Team to assist the Health Workers in Akpoha to deal with the situation.
He further used the residents of the area to adhere to the medical advice of health professionals to prevent the outbreak.
Mr. Ibiam, who took time to visit the victims in various Health facilities in Akpoha, promised to drill four solar boreholes in 2 weeks (two per ward), so that they have access to clean water.
Mr. Ibiam said the visit was a psychological therapy for the people of the area and assured the administration’s readiness for humanitarian intervention to save their children from death from cholera outbreaks and other diseases.
The chairman also gave some relief materials including foam, disinfectant and cash to the public.
The people of the area thanked Mr. Ibiam for giving them a direct assessment of the situation and giving them reason not to despair.
The latest incident comes three weeks after a similar incident in Ezillo community in Ishielu Local Government Area of the state that claimed five lives.
Meanwhile, a health specialist in the country’s Ministry of Health, who spoke anonymously attributed the ongoing outbreak in the country to open defecation and lack of potable water in most of the country’s rural communities.
He asked not to be named because he does not have official permission to speak to the media, on the matter.
He, however, urged the state government to find a lasting solution to the perennial water shortage in the state and initiate the construction of toilet facilities in rural communities.
He noted that the lives of innocent Ebonyi people are at risk because of the failure to provide basic amenities.
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