Cholera: Death Toll Rises to 53 in 107 LGAs in Nigeria

The rapid cholera outbreak in Nigeria has claimed about 53 lives according to the Director General (DG) of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Jide Idris.

During a press briefing, Idris reported that the 53 deaths stem from 1,528 suspected cases across 107 Local Government Areas (LGAs) across 31 the states of the country. He noted that the case fatality rate of 3.5% since the beginning of the year has placed Nigeria at a high-risk level (level 3).

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Forum of Health Commissioners of Nigeria, Dr Oyebanji Filani, has said that 22 states have received test kits and other materials from the Federal Government following the recent cholera outbreak in some parts of the country.

This was as Lagos State recorded 500 suspected cholera cases as the government scrambled to contain its spread.

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The outbreak has notably affected Lagos, Bayelsa, Zamfara, Abia, Cross River, Bauchi, Delta, Katsina, Imo, and Nasarawa states.

With reports of the deadly disease spreading rapidly across Imo state, educational institutions are on high alert, taking proactive steps to prevent the spread of cholera among their campus communities.

Although the state commissioner for Primary Health, Social Services and Health Insurance, Prosper Ohayagha Success has allayed the fears, the development has sparked concern among parents, teachers, and students, as the state struggles to contain the outbreak The Nations reported.

The National Cholera Multi-Sectoral Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) has, therefore, been activated to ensure immediate and coordinated actions from the agency to address the situation.