Nigeria records 3,623 cholera cases, 103 deaths in seven months

The Nigerian government says since the beginning of the year, the country has recorded a total of 3,623 suspected cholera cases and 103 deaths across 187 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Jide Idris, disclosed this on Tuesday during a press conference in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.

He said the number of deaths translates to a cumulative case fatality rate of 2.8 per cent since the beginning of the year.

Mr Idris also noted that there has been a decline in the number of cases in the previous week.

“There was a 5.6 per cent decline in the number of cases in this reporting week (8th -14th July) as compared to the preceding week. We also recorded a drop in the case fatality rate from 2.9 per cent to 2.8 per cent,” he said.

Other diseases

Mr Idris said previous outbreaks revealed that the peak of the outbreak typically aligns with the peak of the rainy season, which is still several weeks away.

He noted that some northern states, typically designated as hotspot areas, have reported fewer cases, potentially attributed to the delayed outset of the rainy season in that region.

He further said the country is not only battling a cholera outbreak but also seeing a rise in other dangerous diseases like yellow fever, Lassa fever, and meningitis.

Speaking on yellow fever, he said there have been three cases recorded.

“Currently, there are three presumptive positive cases which are reported from Ekiti (2) and Bayelsa (1) and one death,” Mr Idris said.

Impact of the rainy season

He said rainfall has a significant impact on the spread of waterborne diseases, affecting both water quality and availability, adding that it can wash pathogens from soil, animal waste, and sewage into rivers, lakes, and other water bodies, contaminating them.

He noted that intense rainfall can overwhelm sewage systems, causing untreated or partially treated sewage to overflow into water supplies, further increasing the risk of contamination.

Floodwaters often contain a harmful mixture of rainwater, sewage, industrial waste, and other contaminants, which can introduce pathogens into drinking water sources, he said.

He further said flooding can also displace populations, leading to overcrowding in shelters with inadequate sanitation facilities, increasing the risk of waterborne disease outbreaks.

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Additionally, heavy rains and floods can damage water treatment infrastructure, distributing contaminated water and compromising sanitation systems, allowing pathogens to spread.

Cholera response activities

Cholera is a foodborne and waterborne disease caused by the ingestion of Vibrio cholerae, typically through contaminated water and food.

The water is usually contaminated by the faeces of infected individuals, which can happen at the source, during transportation, or during storage at home.

Additionally, food can become contaminated by soiled hands during preparation or consumption, leading to the spread of the disease.

The symptoms of cholera include acute, profuse, painless, watery diarrhoea.

The agency noted that as part of its response activities, it had distributed medical supplies for case management, infection prevention and control, and laboratory to all medical centres nationwide.

Also, it has provided offsite and onsite support to states such as Lagos and Ogun and followed up for daily reporting and progress with response activities.

The agency also ensured ongoing sub-national level training of Laboratory Scientists on sample collection and analysis as well as training of community mobilisers on cholera key messages.

Distribution of jingles, flyers, and posters containing key messages on cholera prevention to all states and Federal Capital Territory.