In 3 months, Nigeria loses 79 to cholera

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control NCDC, has announced that a total of 79 lives have been lost to suspected cholera cases in 2023.

In its latest cholera situation epidemiological report released on Monday, the NCDC said 1,336 suspected cases of cholera, have also been recorded this year.

The report revealed that 12 states across 43 local government areas reported the suspected cases, with a case fatality ratio of 5.9 per cent.

The 12 states reporting cases in the country are Abia, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Cross River, Ebonyi, Kano, Katsina, Niger, Ondo, Osun, Sokoto, and Zamfara.

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The World Health Organisation said at least 24 countries continue to report cholera cases. In Nigeria, cholera is an endemic and seasonal disease, occurring annually mostly during the rainy season and more often in areas with poor sanitation.

The report read in part, “Of the suspected cases since the beginning of the year, age groups 15-24 and >45 years are the most affected age groups for males and females respectively. Of all suspected cases, 53 per cent are males and 47 per cent are females.

“Six states – Cross River (647 cases), Ebonyi (97 cases), Abia (72 cases), Niger (38 cases), and Zamfara (28 cases) account for 96 per cent of all cumulative cases.

“Fifteen LGAs across nine states Ebonyi (4), Cross River (3), Ondo (2), Bayelsa (1), Abia (1), Katsina (1), Sokoto (1) Niger (1) and Zamfara (1), reported more than 5 cases each this year.”

The NCDC said it would continue training on cholera surveillance, hotspot mapping, state-level preparedness and response plans.

Nigeria recorded 23,550 suspected cases of cholera in 2022, with 583 lives lost to the scourge.