176 Deaths Recorded As Cholera Cases Hit 5,951

Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has said that 5,951 suspected cases of cholera and 176 deaths have been recorded across 152 LGAs of 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Director-general of NCDC, Dr. Jide Idris, who disclosed this at a press briefing on Thursday in Abuja, said the NCDC data reflected a continued increase in the number of cases being recorded across the country. “So far, the most affected age groups are less than 5 years,” he said.

Dr Jide said that the trend of suspected cholera cases was anticipated to exhibit fluctuations and may persist until Epidemic Week 37. This projection, according to him, was consistent with the patterns observed in cholera outbreaks in the country from 2020 to 2024.

The current rainfall forecasts suggested that there may be an increase in the number of cases, he added.

He identified high rates of open defecation, which leads to contamination of water sources through the runoff of fecal matter as contributing factors to the outbreak.