Panic As 1,768 Die Of Cholera In FCT, 23 Other States

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has raised alarm over the cases of cholera infection as death toll hits 1,768.

The Centre said the number of cases has risen to 47,603 in 23 States including the Federal Capital Territory - Abuja.

The affected states include Gombe, Bauchi, Zamfara, Benue, Kano, Kaduna, Adamawa, Taraba, Borno,Yobe, Jigawa, Katsina, Delta, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kwara, Cross River, Enugu, Kebbi, and the FCT - Abuja.

The weekly epidemiological report of the NCDC noted in its 32nd week report that 14 states reported 2,984 suspected cases.

The states were Bauchi (1,306), Jigawa (714), Kebbi (325), Katsina (173), Yobe (164), Sokoto (101), Zamfara (57), Adamawa (44), Kano (36), Niger (33), Nasarawa (20), Borno (7), FCT (3) and Plateau (1).

While noting the number of deaths, the report stated that 72 deaths were recorded in 9 states.

The states include Bauchi with the highest record of 21; Jigawa (17), Kebbi (14), Katsina (7), Kano (3), Yobe (3), Sokoto (1), Nasarawa (1) and Adamawa (1) states.

The report stated that, “Twenty-three states and FCT have reported suspected cholera cases in 2021. As at 15th August 2021, a total of 47,603 suspected cases including 1,768 deaths (CFR 3.7per cent) have been reported from 23 states and FCT in 2021.

“There was a 21 per cent decrease in the number of new suspected cases in week 32 (2,984) compared with week 31 (3,781),” report explained. 

The Centre noted that the major causes of the rise in infection cases include open defecation, lack of portable drinking water, inadequate vaccines to go round, and difficulty to access some communities due to security challenges.

The Centre also decried inadequate health facilities, lack of trained manpower, poor and inconsistent reporting from states among others.