Cholera outbreak : 02 cases in the Eastern region

This is the content of a press release signed on 01 May 2023 by the Prefect of the Department of Lom&Djerem. The Regional Delegation of the Ministry of Public Health has conducted a field visit to assess the management of patients.

Murielle Esson Ebangue

Two (02) cases tested positive and were treated at the Bertoua Regional Hospital. They were two passengers of local travel agencies
coming from Yaounde. As mentioned in the communiqué of the Prefect of Lom and Djerem, of which we obtained a copy. The head of the Department did not hesitate to give advice to residents. “Faced with this acute intestinal infection due to the ingestion of water or food contaminated
by the extremely contagious and deadly vibrio cholerao bacillus, the Prefect of Lom and Djerem has not hesitated to give advice to local residents. It invites the population to be vigilant by observing hygiene measures and to report to the nearest health facility any suspected case presenting
symptoms such as recurrent diarrhoea and vomiting,” the statement continued. These are the symptoms presented by the detected cases. “My son is interned here. It all started with a stomach ache. To the stomach ache, diarrhoea was added. At first we thought it was amoebas or yeast. It was when we got to the hospital that the diagnosis revealed that it was cholera. He was immediately taken care of by the staff of the regional hospital,”
says Ms. Bayina Rachel Thérèse, a warden. Mechanisms have also been put in place for the management of contact cases. “I received 03 drinking tablets. They also went to my house to spray my house and gave the same tablets to all the inhabitants of the house”, continues Mrs. Bayina. As part of the relentless fight against cholera, Joseph OUM II, Prefect of the Lom and Djerem Department did not hesitate to prescribe
strong methods. “I have the honour to ask you to kindly take the necessary measures, notably sensitization on hygiene rules; the definition of community cases to contribute to the early management of this extremely contagious infection”, such are the instructions prescribed by the Prefect of the Lom and Djerem Department in circular letters sent to the different sectors.
Thus, the Regional Delegate of Public Health of the East, Dr José Andjembe ESSOLA, initiated a visit on Tuesday, May 2, 2023 to the treatment unit where he held a consultation meeting with the Director and all the actors involved in the treatment of cholera
cases. 05 cases of alerts At the end of the discussions, it was noted that five alert cases had been recorded. Out of the 05 cases, 04 suspected cases were notified: So 02 positive cases and 02 negative cases. Regarding the positive cases, one of the cases has already been confirmed by the national public health laboratory and the other case is RDT positive and awaiting confirmation.
At the end of the visit, Dr José Andjembe ESSOLA instructed urgent actions, namely A donation of personal protective equipment (PPE) to the Bertoua Regional Hospital, a visit to the site with the media and community radios for a broad sensitization
of the population, a visit to the bedside of interned patients, the involvement of the authorities
in this relentless fight and the distribution of sensitization posters and flyers on cholera. It is also necessary to carry out psychological
care for patients and families, to increase awareness and disinfection by the WASH team, to increase the number of visits by CHWs to raise awareness
in the community and to strengthen the capacity of staff. To avoid cholera, the population needs to know that hygiene measures
remain paramount. “It’s about hand washing, you must not stop being clean. We must avoid having faeces in the open air. We advise going to the toilet to have a bowel movement. Even if there are no modern toilets, you have to use the latrines. In our communities, people should think about this. In the community, we should also avoid eating
in the street. We must also avoid water whose source is unknown,” prescribes Dr Huguette NGUELE MEKE, Director of the Bertoua Regional Hospital. It is also necessary to be attentive to the symptoms that should directly alert the population. These are “frequent diarrhoea (white or rice stools several times a day), and or vomiting”. As soon as these symptoms appear, “it is better to go immediately to a health facility for a quick treatment, which limits the loss of patients”, said Dr Huguette N’djong. This will limit the loss of patients,” said Dr Huguette Nguele. To spread the essential messages throughout the region, the Regional Delegation of Public Health can count on the support of community health workers. “As community health workers, we raise awareness in churches. Every week, we organise educational
talks. With the support of the Bertoua health district, we raise awareness on preventive methods and hygiene to be observed
around households. We also benefit from the support of traditional chiefs to raise awareness
in local languages,” explains Romeo Bazza, community health worker.