NIGERIA has recorded 91 suspected deaths from cholera since January, according to the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
In its latest update on the disease in the country on Tuesday, the centre noted that between January and July, there were 3,612 suspected cases and 91 suspected deaths.
The ICIR observed a sharp rise in cholera cases and fatalities from June in the data.
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According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingesting food or water contaminated with the bacterium vibrio cholerae.
It can kill within hours if left untreated.
Providing safe water and sanitation is critical to preventing and controlling cholera transmission and other waterborne diseases.
Because the majority of Nigerians do not have access to safe water and the fact that good sanitation practices have been very low, cholera has remained a health challenge in the country for years. In 2010, a report showed that the disease killed 1,500 in Nigeria.
It spread from the country to Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin that year.
In 2021, 2,035 died from the disease in 23 states within eight months.
According to a report quoting the NCDC, within the eight months, there were 58,698 suspected cases in 305 local government areas (LGAs) in 23 states and the FCT.
But the trend in 2022, where 3,612 suspected cases and 91 suspected deaths were recorded in seven months, shows a drastic reduction from the past year.
The ICIR reported how the NCDC received over N16 billion since the emergence of COVID-19 in 2020 for disease control.
From NCDC data for this year (January – July), while 31 states and 190 local government areas (LGAs) reported cases, case fatality stood at 2.5 per cent.
A breakdown of the data per month shows that the country recorded 951 cases and 26 suspected deaths in January. Forty-seven LGAs in 20 states reported cases that month, with the fatality ratio at 2.7 per cent.
In February, the nation recorded seven deaths from 606 suspected cases. Twenty-six LGAs reported cases from 21 states. The country had the lowest fatality ratio from the disease at 1.2 per cent that month.
The lowest number of cases for the seven months was in March. There were 202 cases, from which seven suspected deaths were logged. Only 22 LGAs from seven states recorded cases, as case fatality was 3.5 per cent.
In April, 22 LGAs from seven states reported 411 cases out of which 14 persons were suspected to have died. Case fatality for the month was 4.4 per cent.
May and June had the least suspected deaths – six each. There were 392 and 475 suspected cases in both months, respectively,
While 28 LGAs in 12 states reported cases in May, 30 LGAs in 13 states logged cases in June. Case fatalities for the two months were 1.5 per cent and 1/3 per cent, respectively.
Meanwhile, July saw the highest suspected cases and deaths of 575 and 25 in that order. Sixty-nine LGAs logged in cases in 16 states. The month had 4.3 per cent fatality.
Of the 36 states in the country, only five, namely Yobe, Ogun, Enugu, Ebonyi, and Edo did not record a case.
The NCDC did not list the FCT among the states with cases.
Marcus bears the light, and he beams it everywhere. He's a good governance and decent society advocate. He's The ICIR Reporter of the Year 2022 and has been the organisation's News Editor since September 2023. Contact him via email @ mfatunmole@icirnigeria.org