10 states including Lagos with the most cholera infections this week
Data listing recent cholera outbreaks had been growing since the beginning of the year to the eve of Nigeria’s Democracy Day.
As the intensity of the June rains gains further momentum, 10 states of the federation, including recently, Lagos, have been spotted as having the most burden of cholera which has resulted in a substantial number of deaths.
What the national infections monitoring agency, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) blames this on is improper hygiene. This happens when people consume meals that have been contaminated with faeces or a human carrier.
Beverages prepared with contaminated water and sold by street vendors, ice, and even commercial bottled water have been implicated as vehicles of transmission, as have cooked vegetables and fruits freshened with untreated wastewater, says the NCDC in a public health advisory published on Wednesday, 12 June.
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The agency also anticipates that the duration, starting from infection and the symptoms manifesting will happen between 2 hours to 5 days for those carrying the disease.
Data listing recent cholera outbreaks had been growing since the beginning of the year to the eve of Nigeria’s Democracy Day. Within that timeline, a total of 1,141 suspected and 65 confirmed cases of cholera with 30 deaths have been reported from 96 LGAs in 30 States.
Abia, Adamawa, Akwa-Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, F.C.T are among them. Likewise, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun. The final five Ondo, Osun, Sokoto, Taraba, and Zamfara are the parts of the country noted to have experienced these cholera arrivals and fatalities.
#Cholera Situation Report
Our monthly Cholera Situation Report for May 2024 has been published on our website.
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To put a check on increases, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention wants people to take specific measures. The first will be for the affected demography to practice good personal hand hygiene by washing frequently with soap under clean running water.
People are also to ensure that their food is well cooked before consumption. Raw foods that are safe for consumption according to the NCDC are fruits and vegetables after thoroughly washing them with safe water.
There are things expected from the sub-national governments too.
In the agency’s thinking, once state governors ensure access to the use of safe water, basic sanitation, and proper hygiene practices in communities, they will be making the job of controlling diseases much easier for development partners the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) who are working tirelessly to prevent further spread.
For the time being, the NCDC collaborating with these partners has a few points that are giving room for optimism.
It is a fact that the suspected cases of Cholera in the current year have decreased by 62% compared to what was reported at epi-week 22 in 2023. The same thing applies to the cumulative deaths recorded which decreased by 74% in 2024.
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The main attention now is the 10 states that have contributed 90% to the burden of cholera. How to stop cholera from spreading significantly in Bayelsa, Zamfara, Abia, Cross River, Bauchi, Delta, Katsina, Imo, Nasarawa and Lagos States is NCDC’s big worry.
Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.
