Nearly 10,000 Cases Suspected to be Cholera this Year Alone in Nigeria
Some 9,866 cases suspected to be cholera have been reported in the ongoing outbreak since January, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control says.
Only 275 have been confirmed as cholera in laboratory testing and 141 people have died so far across 92 local government areas in 21 states.
This time last year, only 669 cases suspected to be cholera were reported, and 17 people had died across 25 local government areas in 13 states.
In the first week of July alone, laboratory testing showed 22 infections positive for cholera out of a total 744 reported cases in 11 states.
Fourteen people have died from cholera in the first week of July alone, epidemiological records from the NCDC show.
Both the NCDC and World Health Organisation have warned of the epidemic growing wider and further with rains, if it isn’t contained quickly.
Rapid response teams have deployed to recent cluster of cases in Kano, Bauchi, Plateau, Zamfara and Adamawa.
The national emergency operations centre for cholera at the centre remains on “level 2” response.
It means more meetings and data sharing, tighter coordination of all agencies involved in the response—to treat patients, trace individuals who could have been exposed and chlorinate water sources and other possible sites of contamination.
By: Judd-Leonard Okafor
Daily Trust News
