No fewer than 289 cholera deaths have been recorded in the country between January and June. This was disclosed by the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, in a statement on Monday. Ihekweazu said the NCDC had activated a multi-sectoral National Cholera Emergency Operations Centre, following an increase in cholera cases across the country.
He said, “Since the beginning of the year, 10,833 suspected cholera cases have been reported with 112 confirmed cases and 289 deaths in 2021. In the last one month, an increasing number of cholera cases has been reported across the country.
“The most affected states are Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Zamfara, Bayelsa and Kaduna. Given the risk of large outbreaks across states, NCDC has activated an EOC. 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 NCDC DG urged members of the public to be aware of the risk of the disease and adhere to precautionary measures to ensure safety.
source: HealthWise
