No Cholera Outbreak In Bauchi -Health Authority
By Abdullahi idris,Bauchi
Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (BASPHCDA) has declared that there is no outbreak of Cholera in the state saying, however, that what has been discovered is diarrhoea among children under 5 years caused by rotavirus.
The declaration was made by the Executive Chairman of BASPHCDA, Dr Rilwanu Mohammed, while speaking during a one-day orientation for media professionals on the introduction of Rotavirus vaccination into the routine immunisation held at the Emergency Operation Center (EOC) in Bauchi.
He said that it is a new thing because since 2012 efforts had been intensified by the Federal Government on how to get the Rotavirus vaccine in large quantities stressing that it has been approved for use by the World Health Organisation (WHO) since that time.
According to the EC, “Unfortunately, the quantity supplied that will be given to the children is not enough because by the time you start there is a number of the quantity you must give and the maintenance quantity before you will be able to say yes, you are now ready to actually start the vaccination.”
Rilwanu Mohammed added “Even in Bauchi today, let me tell you, there is an outbreak of diarrhoea in Bauchi LGA we check in about 9 communities, we thought it was cholera but it is not, it might be Rotavirus which is the commonest cause of diarrhoea in children but when we don’t isolate Rotavirus we say it is gastroenteritis, that is diarrhoea without cause. It is Rotavirus that is causing that.
“I must congratulate NPHCDA, the Federal Ministry of Health and the Bauchi State Government for making sure that the vaccine is available and the introduction is also fast so that before the end of the month the vaccine will be in all of our facilities,” he added.
He stressed, “One thing for sure is that this vaccine is the same like the oral vaccine, like the one for oral polio and cholera vaccine, it is oral and durability is also high and the adverse reaction following the vaccination is very low because all the vaccines that are oral have less reactions.”
On the reason the vaccine is oral and not injectable, the BASPHCDA EC explained “The reason we are giving this oral vaccine is that if you give it through oral the child will be vaccinated and the second child that comes in contact with him will be vaccinated also.”
Rilwanu Mohammed stressed that just as polio vaccination was treated, so will the Rotavirus vaccine will be done in order to get children under 5 years well vaccinated across the state.
He then said that the orientation for Media professionals became necessary in order to sensitise the general public on the introduction of the vaccine stressing that, “The media practitioners have a very important role to play in the success of primary healthcare services.”
He added that with the media practitioners in the state well sensitized on the vaccine, all misconceptions will be reduced to the barest minimum urging the participants to pay attention to the presentation that will be made during the orientation.
