Cholera: 816 deaths recorded so far, says NCDC

From Fred Ezeh, Abuja

Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) yesterday said cholera outbreak has claimed no fewer  than 816 lives between January till date.

It said the deaths were recorded from about  31,425 suspected cases reported across Nigeria since the beginning of the year.

The agency stated this in a statement where it listed 22 states as worse hit from the epidemic outbreak, namely Benue, Delta, Zamfara, Gombe, Bayelsa, Kogi, Sokoto, Bauchi, Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, Kebbi, Cross River, Niger, Nasarawa, Jigawa, Yobe, Kwara, Enugu, Adamawa, Katsina, Borno and FCT.

It said  27 per cent of the cholera patients were between the ages of five and 14, with 51 per cent being males and 49 per cent females.

The centre said it observed a slight decrease in the number of new cases in the last two weeks with Bauchi recording  773 cases; Niger, 183;  Katsina, 120; and FCT at 64 accounted for 50.9 per cent of 1,941 cases reported in the last two weeks of July.

It, however, said that National Cholera Emergency Operations Centre which was activated in June 22 following significant rise in number of cholera cases had led to the deployment of Rapid Response Teams to support the most affected states.

The NCDC confirmed that states have been provided with commodities for case management and laboratory diagnosis, materials for risk communications, response guidelines among other support, while a reactive Oral Cholera Vaccine (OCV) campaign led by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) was conducted in Bauchi State in July.

Meanwhile, Director General, NCDC, Dr. Chike Ihekweazu, in the statement, maintained that none of the medical interventions would solve the underlying issues leading to cholera outbreaks.

He said without proper Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Nigeria, remains at risk of cholera cases and deaths and that the long-term solution for cholera control lies in access to safe drinking water, maintenance of proper sanitation and hygiene.

He urged state governments to prioritise actions for solutions that ensure access to safe water, basic sanitation and good hygiene practices in communities.