Research-Driven Action Needed to Curb Cholera Spread, Cross River Says

The Cross River State Government has strengthened its commitment to research-driven healthcare interventions, calling for greater attention to secondary infections and inter-community transmission in the fight against cholera.

State Commissioner for Health, Dr Henry Ayuk, disclosed this on Tuesday when he hosted a high-level stakeholder debriefing at the Ministry of Health in Calabar to review findings from a University of Calabar research project on seasonal cholera outbreaks in high-risk riverine communities in the state.

Ayuk commended the initiative, stressing that research findings were essential to developing more effective and targeted public health interventions.

He said the priority of the research should extend beyond identifying primary cases to understanding how infections are sustained and transmitted from one community to another, particularly given the social and transportation links connecting rural settlements.

“The most critical priority is focusing on secondary infections rather than just primary cases, and examining whether current intervention methods are serving their intended purpose,” Ayuk said.

He noted that strong social and transit interactions among inland communities could facilitate the rapid spread of outbreaks, making early detection, surveillance and targeted community interventions critical to containing disease transmission.

Ayuk called for sustained grassroots mobilisation and greater integration of local dialects into public health campaigns, stressing that communicating health messages in languages understood by local communities would strengthen community ownership and promote lasting behavioural change.

The Commissioner also emphasised the importance of continued collaboration between government and academic institutions in translating research evidence into practical interventions capable of protecting rural communities from seasonal waterborne diseases.

Speaking on behalf of the research team, Principal Investigator Dr Glory Nja presented the findings of the study, which focused on seasonal cholera outbreaks across seven high-risk riverine communities in Southern Etung Local Government Area of the state.

The research project, funded by the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (RSTMH) and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), deployed a community-based approach involving the use of the Ejagham dialect, targeted community engagement and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions.

Nja explained that unsafe water, poor sanitation, inadequate handwashing and open defecation remained significant factors contributing to the persistence and spread of cholera in affected communities.

She said residents could significantly reduce their risk of infection through practical preventive measures, including boiling or properly treating drinking water, keeping their surroundings clean, practising proper hand hygiene and eliminating open defecation.

“Communities should not wait for disease outbreaks to escalate before taking preventive action. Therefore, sustained health education and behavioural change is very key and critical to reducing the burden of cholera,” she explained.

She urged residents to adopt simple but effective preventive practices, noting that proper water treatment, environmental cleanliness, handwashing and the abandonment of open defecation could go a long way in preventing cholera transmission.

The debriefing underscores the need for evidence-based, locally adapted strategies to complement routine cholera control measures, particularly in hard-to-reach riverine communities where water and sanitation challenges persist.