The Nigeria Center for Disease Control has announced that cholera outbreaks in Nigeria will skyrocket in 2024, with suspected cases increasing by an alarming 220 percent.
The NCDC said on its official website that this is according to the latest epidemiological report.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that cholera is an acute intestinal infection that is spread through contaminated food and water. Communities with limited access to sanitation are the most affected.
Conflict, climate change, inadequate safe water and sanitation, poverty, underdevelopment, and population displacement due to emerging and recurrent conflicts and natural disasters all contribute to increased cholera incidence.
The Nigeria Public Health Agency announced that by the end of the 39th epidemiological week, the country had recorded 10,837 suspected cases and 359 deaths.
It said the figures show a 239 per cent increase in deaths compared to 2023.
According to the report, the case fatality rate (CFR) this year was 3.3%, slightly higher than the 3.1% recorded last year.
“In the past week alone, 198 new suspected cases and 15 deaths were reported across five states, for a weekly CFR of 7.6%.
“The states most affected by the outbreak in week 39 include Adamawa (131 cases), Ebonyi (30 cases), Borno (29 cases), Kano (7 cases) and Jigawa (1 case).“Adamawa remains a hotspot, with 535 suspected cases reported in the last month,” it said.
The agency said that since the beginning of 2024, Lagos State has reported the highest number of suspected cholera cases, accounting for 43% of the country’s total.
According to the report, Lagos Island Local Government accounts for 5% of the total number of infections in the country.
“Lagos Island Local Government has been particularly hard hit, accounting for 5 per cent of the suspected cases nationwide.
“Stool cultures were employed to monitor the situation, 254 Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) were conducted with 175 positive results, 149 stool cultures were conducted, of which 103 tested positive. ,” the report said.
The report said significant numbers of cases have also been reported in other states, including Jigawa, Kano, Borno and Katsina, highlighting the widespread nature of the outbreak.
“870 cases were recorded in Jigawa, 588 in Kano and 588 in Borno,” it said.
The NCDC revealed that children under 5 years of age were the most affected, followed by children between 5 and 14 years of age.
According to the report, men accounted for 52% of all suspected cases and women accounted for 48%.
The NCDC report emphasizes the need for continued vigilance and response efforts as the outbreak shows no signs of slowing.
The agency has established a national multidisciplinary cholera technical working group to monitor and respond to the outbreak across the state.
He emphasized the importance of improved sanitation, access to clean water, and public health education to control the spread of the disease.
“Efforts continue to strengthen health systems and increase surveillance in high-risk areas,” the report said.
The agency called on the public to report suspected cholera cases and adhere to preventive measures such as proper hand washing and safe food handling to reduce transmission.
Meanwhile, open defecation has become common in communities affected by the outbreak, the NCDC said.
It said this practice continues to pose a challenge to the country’s efforts to control the spread of cholera.
The agency also highlighted poor access to drinking water, sanitation, and laundry supplies.
The report said drinking water was in short supply in some rural areas and urban slums. Due to water shortages, the reliance on people selling water in jerry cans also contributed to the spread of infection.
“WASH infrastructure and supplies, including wastewater management facilities, are also inadequate,” the ministry said.
The NCDC also said that efforts to ensure effective incident management are hampered by a lack of skilled manpower in states.
As part of the challenges affecting efforts to control the spread of infection, authorities highlighted the lack of information, education and communication (IEC) materials at the local level.
They also noted inadequate access to supplies and supplies for case management.
“There is a lack of IEC materials at the local level, insufficient consumables and supplies for case management, insufficient logistics for active case searching, and therefore active case searching in the community. “is insufficient,” the report says.
NAN recalls that the number of cholera cases has already significantly exceeded last year’s numbers, raising concerns that the epidemic could worsen if urgent action is not taken.
Public health experts are calling for enhanced intervention strategies and continued community engagement to combat this deadly disease.
For more information and updates on the cholera situation, please visit the NCDC website or call the toll-free helpline.
Meanwhile, cholera outbreaks in the Middle East, South Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa are spreading worldwide and becoming increasingly deadly.
Deaths from diarrheal diseases soared last year, far outpacing increases in infections, according to a new World Health Organization analysis.
Although cholera is easy to prevent and costs little to treat, large-scale outbreaks have overwhelmed even well-prepared health systems in countries that have not faced the disease for many years.
Globally, the number of cholera deaths reported last year increased by 71% compared to 2022, and the number of reported cases increased by 13%.
WHO report attributes much of the increase to conflict and climate change
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