Public health officials in the Ashanti region say they are leaving no stone unturned to maintain a cholera-free environment. Health facilities in the region have yet to record any incident of cholera in the past five years. According to the regional public health directorate, Ashanti has been recording the disease in a five-year cycle. Officials say about 50 stools of diarrhea have so far been examined this year, but thorough investigation revealed no incident of cholera. Deputy Director of Public Heath, Dr. Joseph Oduro says adherence to environmental cleanliness will keep the region from diseases like cholera. He explained that the disease is contracted when one comes into contact with human faeces, adding that people who get cholera may have accidentally drunk water or eaten food contaminated with faeces. Dr. Oduro warned that with an acute cholera condition, death can occur within 12 hours of diarrhea and said his outfit was on high alert to avert the outbreak of cholera in the region. Meanwhile, the directorate has said the quest to eradicate the guineaworm disease in the Ashanti region has not been totally successful. Officials however say eradication is within reach in the last lap of interventions, targeting children below age 15. The Ashanti region has been recording steady decline of guineaworm infection. Fifty-two cases were recorded in 2006, 18 in 2007, five in 2008, two in 2009 while no infection was recorded last year. With the effort of local volunteers and adherence to simple methods like water filtration and health education, the region has witnessed tremendous results in the eradication of the disease. Source: Luv News/Kumasi, Ghana