Pallisa closes eating places
Mar 21, 2012
The Pallisa deputy resident commissioner, Ambrose Onoria, has suspended all eating kiosks and drinking joints in Kabwangasi sub-county. This was after the acting district health officer, Dr. David Okoth, disclosed that there was a cholera outbreak in Doko village, in Kabwangasi sub-county last week
BY LAWRENCE OKWAKOL
The Pallisa deputy resident commissioner, Ambrose Onoria, has suspended all eating kiosks and drinking joints in Kabwangasi sub-county. This was after the acting district health officer, Dr. David Okoth, disclosed that there was a cholera outbreak in Doko village, in Kabwangasi sub-county last week.
Dr. Okoth said the first victim got cholera after eating food from a kiosk on Budaka-Mbale Road.
The victim was later rushed to Busiu Treatment centre in Mbale district where he was treated and discharged.
Four other people from Doko village contracted the disease and were admitted to Namatala Treatment Centre in Mbale Municipality.
Dr. Okoth advised people to practise good hygiene like washing hands with clean water after visiting the toilet and drinking boiled water from recommended water sources.
He also advised them to avoid eating from roadside kiosks, drinking ajon (local brew) from unhygienic bars and dispose of human waste in the right way.
How cholera leads to death
Cholera is a bacterial infection that affects the small intestine, causing severe diarrhoea. The disease progresses in about three to six days, but if not treated, it can cause serious dehydration, kidney failure, coma, and even death.
Causes of cholera
Cholera is caused by a bacterium called Vibrio cholera. Once swallowed, it settles in the lining of the small intestine. Many bacteria die, and others are swept out, but the colony usually hangs around for a week or two. During that time, it releases a toxin (poison) that can cause the body to flush liquid into the small intestine, creating diarrhoea.
The bacteria that cause cholera are usually transmitted by water contaminated with human faeces. It can also be transmitted by eating contaminated food, especially raw or undercooked food. Most people infected with cholera have no symptoms, yet they carry the bacteria for a few weeks, excreting them slowly into the water supply.
Did you know?
How to prevent
cholera
- Boil all water before drinking it.
- Wash and peel all fruit before eating.
- Keep flies away from food by covering it.
- Avoid ice cubes (unless they are made from purified water), ice cream and salads, which can easily be contaminated with bacteria.
- Cook all foods thoroughly and eat them while they are hot.
- Avoid foods and drinks from street vendors.
- Boarding schools should not allow cooked food coming from outside the school.
To WaterAid
Your messages are helpful
Thank you WaterAid for sending us WASH project with messages about sanitation and hygiene. These messages help us a lot. We wrote and drew posters about sanitation and hygiene. We are repairing a water tank to get safe water.
Aidah Kankunda, P7, Masindi Town Model School
Provide water tanks
I am grateful to WaterAid for giving us a copy of a newspaper every week. This has helped us to keep our compound and classes clean. We now wash our hands after every visit to the toilet. I request WaterAid to consider providing water tanks for schools to harvest rain. There is a water problem in Katakwi. Thank you WaterAid and Vision Group.
Tabisa Amulen, P7, Katakwi Parents Primary School
We now wash our hands
Thank you WaterAid for teaching us how to use water and dispose of rubbish in a proper way. We can now wash our hands properly after visiting the toilets and after touching dirty things. We also clean our dormitories every week. Thanks also to New Vision. We can now read and write very well.
Julian Ategeka, P5, Masindi International School
We need more boreholes
There is only one borehole in our area serving around three villages. The Government should help us provide more boreholes.
Yakub Iguru, P5, Uthman Mixed Primary School, Masindi
Stop writing on our walls
We have a nice school compound with flowers and trees. However, there are some things that make our school compound dirty. Some pupils litter the compound with paper. Others write bad words on walls and on trees using pieces of chalk.
Brenda Okunia, P6, Arua Demonstration School