A total of 20 people have been confirmed dead in 200 recorded cases of cholera in four LGAs of Benue State since its outbreak on January 10, 2021.
The four LGAs are Guma, Agatu, Gwer-West and Makurdi.
Earlier, the state’s Ministry of Health had announced the outbreak of cholera in Agatu and Gwer-West respectively.
Team leader of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)’s National Rapid Response team working in the state, Dr. Ikechukwu Oradu, made the disclosure during a visit to the state Deputy Governor, Engr. Benson Abounu, at the government house in Makurdi.
Oradu told the deputy governor that their findings also showed that the affected communities lacked portable water.
He appealed to the state government to drill boreholes and public toilets for the communities to check open defecation as well as provide Rapid Diagnostic kits for testing of cholera in the state.
Responding, the deputy governor said the Ministry of Health and Human Services had treated those affected since the outbreak, stopping the mortality rate from escalating.
