Public health experts have stressed the need for the Federal Government and its agencies to enforce measures to further curb the spread of diphtheria.
In an interview with our correspondent on Saturday, a professor of Environmental and Public Health Microbiology/Microbial Physiology in the Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Benin, Prof Osaro Ekhaise, said regulatory measures on good hygiene should be put in place by public health institutions curtail the spread of the infection.
Ekhaise said that an awareness campaign could also be a measure to properly educate people, especially those in butcheries and food processing, to teach them how to carry out their businesses without getting infected.
He added, “In our society, we have a very good policy but implementation is the problem. We buy food in public places and restaurants but the regulations are not there to know if the food meets the public health regulations or otherwise. We have the Ministry of Health and the institutions but nobody is talking about this and it is a problem.
“Some measures should be put in place to prevent the spread of contaminated foods. Are the people who are selling the food around complying with the ideal situation? The facilities that are used and the equipment used in slicing the meat are a problem. If you go to an abattoir, it is an eye-sore.”
“There should be awareness and enlightenment campaigns in the form of town hall meetings to tell people what to do and how to go about safety. People who sell food items and prepare them should also be trained and monitored. They should be engaged and be empowered on how to go about it.”
Also speaking, a Professor of Community Medicine and Public Health at the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Prof Best Ordinioha, said vaccination was an effective preventive measure.
“To curb the spread children should be vaccinated against the infection,” he said.
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