Cholera claims seven lives

HO, Ghana, January 12 -- Seven out of 53 people reported to have been attacked by cholera at Mepe in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region have so far died of the disease. Mr Action Korve, who was suspected to have carried the disease from Accra to Mepe, where he attended a funeral around December 27, last year, was the first to die in Accra on January 3.

A report signed by Dr Frank Nyonator, Volta Regional Director of Health Services, indicated that 12 of the victims who were admitted at the Battor Hospital have been discharged while the rest are still under observation. Of the number, 20 are children between four months and 18 years old, 23 women and 10 men.

The report stated that the cases and deaths recorded were mostly from areas that lack basic sanitation and where indiscriminate defecation takes place. It further stated that residents in the affected areas do not use public toilets because they could not afford paying the 100 cedis charged. "Optimal case management at the hospital is difficult due to several factors, including understaffing," the report indicated. The North Tongu District Assembly has however released 2.5 million cedis to the District Health Management Team for the purchase of basic facilities. The report also appealed to the public to observe good hygiene and sanitation practices.