The cholera outbreak in Nigeria has claimed 378 lives, with suspected cases surpassing 14,000 since the beginning of January. These alarming figures were reported by a senior public health official in the most populous country in Africa.
“By October 13, at least 14,237 suspected cases had been documented across 35 of the 36 states, resulting in a fatality rate of 2.7%,” stated Jide Idris, head of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), during a press conference in Abuja, the capital city.
“Cholera continues to pose a significant public health challenge, especially in states affected by flooding and hindered by inadequate water and sanitation infrastructure,” Idris added, identifying five northern states—Borno, Adamawa, Jigawa, Yobe, and Kano—as the epicenters of the outbreak.
He also mentioned that the NCDC has dispatched rapid response teams to the affected regions and has initiated vaccination campaigns against cholera in displacement camps to help control the outbreak.
A previous report had indicated 359 deaths linked to the cholera crisis. Cholera is a highly virulent disease characterized by the sudden onset of acute watery diarrhea, which can lead to death due to dehydration.
