Benue: Cholera Kills 10, Many Hospitalised

Cholera has reportedly killed at least 10 people in Agatu and Guma councils of Benue State.

According to The Guardian, in Obagaji, headquarters of Agatu, seven people were recently confirmed dead, while in Abinsi, a community in Governor Samuel Ortom’s Guma Council, three children were said to have died of the disease.

This is contrary to some reports that only three persons died of the disease.

Confirming the development, the Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Joseph Ngbea, said the outbreak and deaths in the two councils were detected a few days ago by his ministry.

He said: “Yes, it is true. I personally visited the two places on Monday. Over 20 persons were treated in Agatu and more than 25 treated in Abinsi. Three children died of the disease in Abinsi and seven in Agatu. During the visit, we also provided medical consumables to the general hospital at Obagaji, in response to the disease.”

Ngbea said they presented items such as Ringer Lactate, IV cannula, adhesive plaster, Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS), water guard, syringes, cotton wool and drugs.

READ ALSO: Benue: Akume Accused Of Sowing Seed Of Discord

It was also gathered that Agatu also contributed to the acquisition of valuable drugs to assist in the treatment of the invalid.

Historically, Nigeria has experienced several cholera outbreaks characterised by high Case Fatality Rate (CFRs), notable ones being the epidemic of 1991 which resulted in 59,478 cases and 7654 deaths, and the CFR of 12.9% reported for that outbreak remains the highest for the country to date.