[ad_1]
Angela Onwuzoo
Medical experts have cautioned those digging holes and defecating inside to desist from the act, warning that such action could lead to an outbreak of infectious diseases.
According to the experts, people passing stool inside holes are still practicing open defecation.
The physicians said open defecation was hazardous to environmental and public health, adding that diarrhoea, intestinal infections, respiratory diseases and tuberculosis have been linked with open defecation and poor hygiene.
Wikipedia defines open defecation as a human practice of excreting outside rather than into a toilet. People may choose fields, bushes, forests, ditches, streets, canals, or other open spaces for defecation. They do so either because they do not have a toilet readily accessible or due to traditional cultural practices.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with PUNCH HealthWise, a public health physician and epidemiologist, Dr. Japhet Olugbogi, said people should avoid open defecation.
Olugbogi, who is the Medical Officer of Health, Ifelodun Local Council Development Area of Lagos State said, “People should stop passing stool in places that are not toilets and latrines. Even if they dig a small hole and poop inside, it is still termed as open defecation.
“Open defecation is very connected to a lot of germs and worms, especially in children. People should be wary and ensure that when they want to defecate, they visit the toilet and latrine and do the needful.
“People should stop carrying out what they call ‘shot put’ or just doing it in the nylon and throwing it anywhere they find. This is really a bad practice and people should begin to take responsibility and stop carrying out these bad practices that can be harmful to all our health collectively.”
The epidemiologist stressed that open defecation could contaminate the water system and lead to an outbreak of cholera.
Continuing, he said, “We should be wary of the fact that there are a lot of germs that we cannot see that are in our environment, especially in those areas where they have a lot of filth, dirt, and slumps where they have poor sanitation.
“Also, in areas where they have a lot of bad water and refuse, germs can easily be transferred from one spot to another. And because people don’t look out for them and people do not wash their hands, they can pick up these germs and then you have some infectious disease outbreaks on your hands. People should regularly wash their hands with soap.”
Cleveland Clinic says infectious diseases are illnesses caused by harmful agents (pathogens) that get into the body.
The most common causes the clinic notes are viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites.
According to the clinic, infectious diseases usually spread from person to person, through contaminated food or water and through bug bites.
No fewer than 48 million Nigerians still practice open defecation, according to the 2021 Water, Sanitation and Hygiene National Outcome Routine Mapping III Report by the United Nations Children’s Fund.
“23 percent of the population (48 million people) still defecate in the open. People in rural areas (31 per cent) are four times more likely to practice open defecation than those living in urban areas,” the report indicated.
The World Health Organisation estimates that 50 per cent of malnutrition is associated with repeated diarrhoea or intestinal worm infections from unsafe water or poor sanitation. This is because children with diarrhoea eat significantly less food and only absorb fewer nutrients from their food, which perpetuates the cycle of contracting bacteria-related illnesses.
According to the WHO, the significance of sanitation to safeguard human health is irrefutable and has important public health dimensions, stressing that access to sanitation has been essential for human dignity, health, and well-being.
Another health expert, Dr. Tosin Ilori, stated that open defecation increases the risk of contracting waterborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and trachoma including vector-borne diseases whereby human waste attracts flies and other insects.
Ilori added, “Open defecation also causes malnutrition in children: Ill health caused by cholera and diarrhoea causes loss of fluid and lack of appetite for food which may lead to malnutrition. There is also the susceptibility to other infections; an infection from open defecation weakens the immune system and can further make a child more prone to other diseases such as pneumonia and tuberculosis.”
Copyright PUNCH
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.
Contact: [email protected]
[ad_2]
Source link
