Twenty people have died since cholera broke out in the Central Region in July, Dr. Kwaku Anin KariKari, the Central Regional Deputy Director of the Ghana Health   Service (GHS), has said.

Between Monday, July 21, when the first suspected case was reported at Kasoa in the Awutu Senya East, the disease had spread to 10 more districts  with 783 cases in the Region as of September 2.

Giving the break- down of the cases, he said the Cape Coast Metropolis which was the last district to record the disease, leads the death toll with five deaths and 212 cases  though Agona West,  which was most affected has recorded  four deaths out of 216 cases.

Awutu Senya East has recorded   174 cases with three deaths, Abura Asebu Kwamankese had 40 cases with two deaths; Mfantseman recorded 40 cases, but with no death while one death out of 39 cases has been recorded in the Efutu municipality.

Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa had eight cases with no death and Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem, recorded eight cases with two deaths.

Dr. Karikari appealed to affected families and communities to ensure that all cholera-related deaths are promptly buried under the supervision of Environmental Health Unit of their respective District Assemblies.

 He said the GHS had the necessary measures in place to ensure that cholera cases reported to health facilities were effectively managed and that patients must report promptly for treatment since any delay could lead to death.

“This should be of great concern to all of us in the region and would require the collaboration and cooperation of all to swiftly and effectively bring the situation under control and end the outbreak,” he said.

Cholera is an acute bacterial enteric disease caused by Vibrio Cholera, characterized by the sudden onset of profuse watery diarrheoa, occasional vomiting, rapid dehydration, acidosis and circulatory collapse.

A cholera outbreak is primarily an indicator of poor personal and environmental hygiene, which could be transmitted through contaminated food or water.