6 States Record I,786 Suspected Cases Of Cholera, 325 Deaths

NCDC’s Director-General, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, listed the states as Bauchi, 1,239 cases; Kano, 362 cases; Niger, 62 cases; Zamfara, 55 cases; Kaduna, 59 cases and Plateau, nine cases.

He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that in the preceding week of June 13 to June 19, five states: Bauchi, Kano, Kaduna, Plateau and Zamfara reported 1,757 suspected cases.

Bauchi State reported 900 cases, Kano State reported 575 cases, Kaduna State reported 70 cases, Plateau reported 98 cases, while Zamfara reported 114 cases.

This, he added, included 325 deaths.

The affected states are Benue, Delta, Zamfara, Gombe, Bayelsa, Kogi, Sokoto, Bauchi, Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, Kebbi, Cross-River, Nasarawa, Niger and the FCT.

NCDC’s Situation Report on cholera indicates that 27.6 per cent of victims across the country were those in the five years to 14 years bracket.

Ihekweazu also told NAN that a multi-sectorial National Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), coordinates the cholera national response activities.

“The EOC is co-led by the Federal Ministry of Environment and that of Water Resources given the link between cholera, water, sanitation and hygiene.

“The centre has been supporting states to ensure a coordinated, rapid and effective response to the current outbreak.

“This includes the deployment of National Rapid Response Teams to support the response at the state level, provision of medical and laboratory supplies, and scale-up of risk communications amongst other activities,’’ he explained.

Cholera is a preventable and treatable epidemic-prone disease transmitted by eating or drinking contaminated food or water.

The incidence of cholera tends to increase during the rainy season.

(NAN)