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Poverty, die-hard habits cause of cholera persistence
2006-11-09 08:29:51
By Walusanga Ndaki
Poverty and the die-hard habits among the population in the country have been the foremost causes of the constant, periodical resurfacing of cholera particularly in high density areas.
According to reports obtaining at the end of last month, cholera was still taking its toll among Dar es Salaam residents.
According to the Chief Medical Officer of the city, Dr Deo Mtasiwa, 28 people were still admitted in its different health centres undergoing cholera treatment.
In further elaboration, the doctor said 13 patients were admitted in Ilala municipality, three in Temeke and 12 in Kinondoni municipalities.
He also mentioned the residences of the patients as Buguruni, Vingunguti, Ukonga, Segerea, Tabata, Mchikichini and Kigogo in Ilala District, while in Kinondoni and Temeke Districts the affected places included Yombo Vituka, Mburahati, Mabibo, Msasani, Hananasif and Kimara.
The mentioned places are general high-density area where hygienic infrastructures rarely exist; hence rendering them vulnerable to the disease whose main haven is dirty areas.
A proof to the fact that most of the affected areas are located in hygienically unsound areas, Dr Mtasiwa said Dar es Salaam City Council had started taking control of unofficial dumps as one of the moves to curb the spread of the disease.
Other plans that were involved in the operation were targeted at cleaning markets, roads and drainage systems, which he said would be a permanent feature.
”Some 970 tons of waste were collected and dumped in the respective, official areas,” he said elaborating that the amount was out of 3,100 tons produced in the area.
On inspection of the respective environment, the authorities said it involved 25 commercial buildings and 21 latrines while ’chlorine’ was administered in shallow wells.
As regards dangerous habits among the population which are the major means causing spread of the disease, the authorities say they dealt stringent warnings to some 88 people against food vending on streets, letting loose, sewarage waters on streets and haphazard dumping of waste in drainages.
In retrospect, a week ago the same past month, the city registered 41 new cholera patients in its municipality health centres where 19 of them were admitted – 19 of them from Kinondoni municipality and six from Temeke.
Persistence of the disease was furnished by more reports the same month as three people died in Dar es Salaam while 35 of them were in critical condition.
The died persons were those from the said high-density areas lacking in sound hygienic facilities.
With all efforts taken by the city and municipal authorities to ease the situation, the same month, according to City’s Public Relations Officer, Gastoni Makwembe, Kinondoni Municipality was leading as it had 20 patients admitted in its health centres while Ilala had 15 compared with nine from Ilala.
The month of September probably made fearful headlines as the media reported that 70 people were admitted in Dar es Salaam as cholera raged on.
A total of 71 people were admitted in various camps specially established to deal with the disease in the city.
According to Dr Mtasiwa, during the last ten days of the month, a total of 39 patients were undergoing treatment at Buguruni Mnyamani (Ilala), Tandika Tambukareli (Temeke), and Mburahati (Kinondoni), before the number rose to 49 some time later.
As the reports went on air, no deaths had been reported to the ”high-degree” efforts undertaken by the respective authorities.
And in a move to curb further spread of the killer disease, the authorities closed down more than 291 businesses which included 12 bars, 36 food kiosks, 11 beverage houses, 22 toilets and 159 other undisclosed businesses for failure to observe hygiene.
And in further retrospect, good news came out in the early days of July this year when the media reported that the disease which had threateningly come to the surface in December last year on the city has subsided in all the three municipalities of the city.
According to the authorities as of 3rd July, this year, no cholera patients had been reported to be hospitalised in the city’s health centres within its municipalities of Temeke, Ilala and Kinondoni.
The authorities are quoted as having said the good news were the results of a good mobilisation campaign on the residents against the disease by adopting to hygienic ways of consumption and keeping their environment clean.
But other observations note that the disease had subsided due to the fact that the dry season has set in, hence making in difficult for water-borne means of the disease’s infection impossible.
In the same vein, the authorities said 729 people had been taken to court and fined more than 7m/- for going contrary to hygienic regulations as stipulated by the municipality of Ilala.
Earlier, the Ilala municipality authorities has said that a total of 21 people died since the disease descended in the city, while 3,166 were admitted in various camps for treatment in Buguruni suburb.
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