2010-03-05 20:15:22This article has been read 120 times.
Guinea Worm
Some students of the Tamale Senior High School have been infected with guinea worm following the use of untreated water from a dam near the school. One of the infected students, Miss Safia Mahama, told the GNA that she drank water from the dam because there was no portable water in the school.
"The pipes in the school do not flow and we have no option but to use the dam for drinking and washing".
She said she had gone to the hospital and was confirmed to have been infected with guinea worm and had been treated.
"But I still use the same water source for drinking and bathing," Miss Mahama said.
Some of the students who also spoke to the GNA said the school authorities use the same source of water to prepare food for them.
When the GNA got to the dam it looked dirty, brownish and full of impurities and animals drink from it.
Almost all the students were seen holding their yellow containers ready to go for the dam water and authorities of the school refused speaking to the GNA saying they have been directed not to speak to the media.
When the GNA contacted Mr. Gilbert Dery, the Northern Regional Coordinator for Guinea Worm Eradication Programme, he dispatched a team to the school to investigate.
He said the programme would provide the school with filters for treating their water source and liaise with the Ghana Water Company to provide the school with potable water.
