Nigeria has, so far, recorded 33,661 cases of cholera in 22 states across the country, leading to the death of not less than 938 persons, the Minister of Environment, Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar, has said.
Addressing newsmen on the cholera outbreak in Nigeria Monday in Abuja, the minister said it has become urgent to sensitize the general public on the outbreak and efforts made by the ministry to contain the scourge.
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He said the latest situation report from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) showed that the disease has spread to 22 states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The minister listed the affected states to include: “Benue, Delta, Zamfara, Gombe, Bayelsa, Kogi, Sokoto, Bauchi, Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, Kebbi, Cross River, Niger, Nasarawa, Jigawa, Yobe, Kwara, Enugu, Borno, Kastina, Adamawa and FCT.
He said as part of efforts to combat the diseases, the ministry would be flagging off the National Environmental Sanitation Response Intervention to Cholera Outbreak in Kubwa, Abuja which is currently the epi-centre in the FCT.
The minister, therefore, charged state and local governments and other stakeholders to step up their sanitation and hygiene programmes and activities to curb the spread of the diseases.
58 die in Nasarawa, Taraba
At least, 58 persons have lost their lives to cholera in Nasarawa and Taraba states.
The disease has claimed 51 lives in eight local government areas of Nasarawa in the last eight months while seven persons reportedly died of cholera in Tella town, Gassol Local Government Area of Taraba last week.
Speaking with Daily Trust on phone in Lafia, the Director of Public Health in the state’s Ministry of Health, Dr Ibrahim Adamu-Alhassan, said the state government would embark on awareness campaign to educate the residents on the danger of the disease.
He, however, blamed the spread of the disease on poor sanitation and open defecations, particularly in the affected local government areas.
He urged law enforcement agencies to enforce the law against open defecation in the state to curb the spread of the disease.
In Taraba State, seven people lost their lives to the disease, which, locals said, stated at Kabawa ward last week and spread to other parts of Tella town.
A resident, Ibrahim Halidu told Daily Trust that, so far, scores of people have been admitted in the health facility in the town.
He said medical team from health department of Gassol local government council has arrived at the town and were working to control the outbreak.
Baba Martins (Abuja), Umar Muhammed (Lafia) & Magaji lsa Hunkuyi (Jalingo)
