A public health officer called on the community to desist from consulting witch doctors on cholera cases and treating patients with traditional herbs.
Julu Louis made the call in an interview with Emmanuel Radio after leading a team to assess cholera cases at Idalu in Imehejek corridor of Lafon/Lopa County of Eastern Equatoria.
He said during the assement, the discovered that community members were seeking witch doctors and traditional herbalists to treat cholera cases.
Mr Louis said patients at Idalu Cholera Treatment Centre were admitted under trees without adequate measures to prevent spread of the disease to others including health staff.
He observed lack of protective wears and disinfectants in the treatment centre.
The health officer disclosed that Idalu Treatment Centre also lacked Cholera beds for management of patients’ faeces.
The officer expressed concerns after witnessing families of patients cooking food at cholera treatment centres, saying ‘this risks lives of people who eat the food’.
Over 200 cumulative cholera cases with about 11 deaths were reported in Eastern Equatoria state by Wednesday.
About 137 of them were from Torit town, 37 in Idalu area of Imehejek corridor of Lafon/Lopa, 23 at Bur Payam of Torit County, 11 in Nimule and one in Magwi town.
Torit town records indicated that seven death cases both at homes and at Torit the hospital, three in Idalu and two in Nimule town.
In another news development, Emmanuel Radio witnessed a one-day training of community health mobilizers at Safari Link on Wednesday to step up awareness campaigns at rural areas to combat cholera outbreak in the state.
Eastern Equatoria health minister Margaret Itto said the training that attracted community health mobilizers from the eight counties of the state was to empower them with skills to prevent and manage cholera cases.