12 dead as cholera hit Adamawa

Adamawa Government on Sunday confirmed the outbreak of cholera with 12 deaths recorded.

The Commissioner for Health, Chief Felix Tangwami, who confirmed the outbreak in a statement in Yola, said that out of 50 samples of suspected cases, 30 were positive.

Tangwami said that six of the deaths were recorded at a facility, six occurred at home while 308 people were admitted with 244 treated and discharged,

“On behalf of the state Governor, I want to inform you all that we have received the results of samples sent to NCDC [Nigeria Centre for Disease Control] for confirmation. It is confirmed that what we are dealing with is Acute watery Diarrhea or Cholera.

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“Unfortunately, out of the 50 samples sent to the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) in Abuja, 30 samples returned positive for cholera, six came back negative, two were still ongoing and 12 were still pending in isolation.

“With these results, therefore, I want to confirm to the public that there is an outbreak of cholera in Adamawa.

“People should be cautious of their movements, interactions, personal hygiene, and the source of water they drink.

“The public is assured that the government through its health workers is doing everything possible by the grace of God to contain the situation as done in the past with other similar outbreaks.

“We ask that people should continue to pray for us as we face this monster. They should remain calm and cooperate with health workers as they go around to sensitise and give professional advice,” he said. (NAN)