Nigeria recorded 23,550 suspected cases of cholera in 2022 with Borno State taking the lead with 12,459 cases.

The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, who made this known in Abuja on Friday, said the country also lost 583 lives to the scourge in 2022.

Adetifa said Borno’s neighbour, Yobe placed second with 1,888 cases, while Katsina State followed with 1,632 cases.

Taraba had 1,142 cases; Gombe State had 1,407 cases, while Kano State recorded 1,131 cases.

“The six states accounted for 84 per cent of all cases of cholera in Nigeria in 2022,” Adetifa added.

He stated that 52 per cent of cholera victims in 2022 were female while males accounted for 48 per cent.

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The NCDC boss put the fatality rate of cases reported in 33 states of the federation at 2.5 per cent.

Adetifa said children between the ages of five years and 14 years were the most affected.

He noted that bacterial cholera, endemic during the rainy season, is an acute diarrhoeal disease passing through faeces, adding that contaminated foods and drinks and unhygienic environment cause severe dehydration.

He lamented that cholera is largely associated with rural communities and among the poor with poor nutrition, poor water quality, and poor sanitation and who he said have not gotten the desired attention from governments.

Adetifa said the rise in the cases in Nigeria was exacerbated by limited access to clean water and sanitation facilities, open defecation, and poor hygiene practices.

He cautioned that without proper Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) practices, Nigeria would continue to be at risk of cholera outbreaks along with the associated sufferings and deaths.

“The long-term solution for cholera control lies in access to safe drinking water, maintenance of proper sanitation (especially the discontinuation of open defecation), and the practice of hygiene.

“Nigerians should avoid open defecation and indiscriminate refuse dumping which contribute to the spread of cholera,” the NCDC DG added.

The Star