Following the just concluded yuletide holidays, many areas in Lagos have become dirty and filthy, with heaps of refuse dotting the landscape in many of the 20 local government areas of the state.
Investigations by our correspondent revealed that the PSP operators, who were in charge of collecting refuse, had stopped worked since late last year, giving room to cart pushers to engage in the bad practice of taking waste to road medians and various bus stops after residents have paid them for the disposal services they claim to be rendering.
if the heaps of waste are not evacuated in time, they can give room for the prevalence of pneumonia and other infectious diseases across the state
This practice by the cart pushers is just to avoid paying the PSP contractor. This dangerous trend has continued and is now threatening to sabotage the current efforts of the state government to evacuate waste from the streets in the various local government areas.
Although the state government through the Cleaner Lagos Initiative, which is the new waste management initiative of the state government, has started to map out operational strategies for standard waste management in the state, several refuse heaps still litter the environment.
Medical experts have, therefore, warned that if the heaps of waste were not evacuated in time, they could give room for the prevalence of pneumonia and other infectious diseases across the state.
They argued that people living in dirty, overcrowded and dusty environment were at a high risk of being infected with this commonest killer disease threatening the lives of both the young and the old.
A pulmonologist and consultant at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Edo State, Dr. Tada Ehondor, explained that the disease is an inflammation of the lungs, adding that the factors responsible for it include bacteria, viral or other infections.
According to the physician, “The commonest is the Community Acquired Pneumonia, which is related to environment because of the bacteria unknown to people; and also said to be the fastest killer of the elderly.”
He noted that the disease could spread to the bloodstream, causing sepsis, which is a serious condition that can result in lowering of blood pressure and failure of oxygen to reach the tissues of the
body.
“Another complication is the accumulation of fluid in the space between the lung tissue and the chest wall lining, known as a pleural effusion. The organisms responsible for the pneumonia may infect the fluid in a pleural effusion, known as an empyema. Pneumonia can also result in the formation of an abscess; that is pus collection within the lungs or airways,” Ehondor said.
Similarly, a Pharmacist, Dr. Chinwe Iwu, said that the disease is caused by a combination of risk factors such as those related to the host (individual affected), the environment and infection, adding that the major causes include bacteria, viruses and other micro-organisms.
She further explained that people with weak immune systems, such as the elderly aged 65 years and above, young children, chronic smokers and alcoholics, ran the high risk of being infected by pneumonia.
She, however, warned that children were the most vulnerable.
Iwu also noted that those suffering from other medical conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, asthma, or HIV/AIDS; persons who have recently recovered from a cold or influenza infection, malnourished persons or people who have been recently hospitalised in an intensive care unit and those who have been exposed to certain chemicals or pollutants, could be susceptible to the disease.
She said, “Pneumonia in itself, is not contagious, but the germs that cause it often are. Germs and viruses that cause the flu, common cold, or bacterial infections are contagious and can lead to Pneumonia. For instance, when an infected person coughs or sheds the bacteria or viruses in the air, anyone who inhales these pathogenes may catch the infection and develop a respiratory tract infection within a few days.
“However, your risk of getting an infection may depend on your immune system and the type of microorganisms involved.”
She concluded that the possible risk factors include dirty environment, indoor and outdoor air pollution, overcrowding, zinc deficiency, smoking, concomitant diseases such as diarrhea, heart disease, asthma, rainfall, cold weather and lack of
vitamin A.
