Thursday, 24th June 2021: The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, (NCDC) said it has recorded 289 deaths and 112 new cases from cholera outbreak in 2021.
In a statement signed by the Director-General of NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, disclosed that since the beginning of the year, 10,833 suspected cholera cases have been reported with 112 confirmed cases and 289 deaths in 2021.
Ihekweazu further disclosed that in the last one month, an increasing number of cholera cases has been reported across states as Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Zamfara, Bayelsa and Kaduna are the most affected.
He, however, said NCDC has activated a multi-sectoral National Cholera Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) following an increase in cholera cases across the country.
According to Ihekweazu, the EOC is co-led with the Federal Ministries of Environment and Water Resources given the link between cholera and water, sanitation and hygiene.
“The National EOC has been supporting states to ensure a coordinated, rapid and effective response to the ongoing outbreak.
“This includes the deployment of National Rapid Response Teams (RRT) to support the response at the state level, provision of medical and laboratory supplies, scale-up of risk communications amongst other activities.”
Ihekweazu added that the resources that have been developed as part of Nigeria’s COVID-19 response are being used to strengthen the response to the cholera outbreak.
“This includes the digitalisation of the national surveillance system, establishment of laboratories and treatment centres, training of health workers among others.
Cholera is a preventable and treatable epidemic-prone disease that is transmitted by eating or drinking contaminated food or water.
The number of cholera cases tends to increase with the onset of the rainy season.
The risk of death from cholera is higher when treatment is delayed. It is very important to visit a health facility if you have symptoms such as watery diarrhoea and vomiting.
The NCDC urges members of the public to be aware of the risk of the disease and adhere to precautionary measures to ensure safety.
