The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said on Monday that its records indicate that 816 people have died of cholera since the beginning of 2021. The figure is out of 31,425 suspected cases reported from across Nigeria since the beginning of the year.
NCDC, in a statement, disclosed that 22 states, 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 are worst hit by the epidemic outbreak.
It added that 27 per cent of the cholera patients are between the ages of 5 and 14 years, while 51 per cent are males and 49 per cent are females
The Centre said it has observed that there has been a slight decrease in the number of new cases in the last two weeks, as Bauchi (773), Niger (183), Katsina (120), and FCT (64) accounted for 50.9 per cent of 1,941 cases reported in the last two weeks (29th and 30th July).
It said that the National Cholera Emergency Operations Centre, which was activated on June 22, following a significant rise in the number of cholera cases has led to the deployment of Rapid Response Teams to support the most affected states.
It also 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 Bauchi State in July.
Meanwhile, the 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 insisted that without proper Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WaSH), Nigeria remains at risk of cholera cases and deaths, and 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.
Additionally, he urged Nigerians to keep their environments clean, and only drink or use water that is boiled and stored safely, ensure food is properly cooked and stored in a clean and safe environment, avoid open defecation and wash their hands regularly with soap and running water.
He explained that cholera is a waterborne disease, and the risk of transmission is higher when there’s poor sanitation and disruption of clean water supply.
In addition to that, the wrong disposal of refuse and practices such as open defecation endanger the safety of water used for drinking and personal use, resulting in the spread of water-borne diseases such as cholera, he indicated.
