By Okon Okon
Karu – Mr Haruna Manga, Primary Healthcare Coordinator, Karu Local Government Council, Nasarawa State, has urged residents to desist from indiscriminate dumping of refuse to prevent the outbreak of diseases such as gastroenteritis.
Manga told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Karu on Monday that gastroenteritis, even though a common disease among young children, could also affect adults.
“It is the health condition that causes diarrhoea and vomiting; it is usually caused by a bacterial or viral tummy bug.
“Bacterial gastroenteritis can result from poor hygiene, or it can also occur after consuming food that is contaminated with bacteria carried by flies in filthy environment.
“This is the reason why we always warn people to be mindful of their immediate environment, as most of the common sicknesses could be the avoidable ones,’’ he said.
Manga commended the state environmental authorities for their prompt evacuation of dumpsites in the Karu neighbourhood.
He said that the huge population of Karu had spurred the generation of large amounts of waste.
“As part of their assessment, the environmental agencies look at where people normally dump their refuse, they carry out regular inspection of the dumpsites and organise to collect the waste at the right time.
“But our people exhibit poor garbage disposal habits; if an individual is not self-disciplined with regard to waste disposal, there is a possibility that his or her actions would facilitate the spread of communicable diseases like gastroenteritis, cholera, lassa fever and dysentery, among others.
Mrs Elizabeth Jonah, a resident of Ado village in Karu Local Government Area, told NAN that she had stopped buying Kunu, Zobo and other beverages by the roadside so as to avoid contracting sicknesses, just because of an experience she once had.
“I was waiting to board a vehicle when I saw a young boy picking empty plastic bottles from the gutter; maybe these bottles are used for these drinks.
“And who knows how many rats or mice have been attracted to such bottles; these rodents are certainly vectors of some diseases,’’ she said.
Jonah advised the producers of locally made drinks to always use empty, clean and sterilised bottles for their products, while refraining from patronising scavengers who picked plastic bottles from dirty spots such as gutters and dumpsites.
She added that the adoption of such policies would strengthen efforts to curb the spread of diseases in communities across the country.