Cholera outbreak: Death toll hits 28 in Plateau

No fewer than 28 person have now died from a cholera outbreak in Plateau state.

According to the Punch, this was indicated by the epidemiology data of cholera outbreak in the state shared by Philip Dasun, chairman, house committee on health, during a plenary session presided over by Ayuba Abok, the speaker of the state house of assembly on Wednesday.

The data indicated that the state had recorded a total of 1,415 infections since the outbreak began and showed that the infection had spread to all the local government areas except Mikang LGA, which recorded no infection.

Jos north topped the list of LGAs affected with 599 cases, followed by Jos south with 423, and Bassa with 151.

Other LGAs affected include Bokkos, 58; Barkin Ladi, nine; Riyom, 14; Jos East, 20; Wase, 26; Langtang North, 23; Kanam, 41; Qua-anpan, two; Shendam, 30; Mangu, one; Langtang South, two; Kanke, nine; and Pankshin, seven.

The data also showed that the 28 deaths in the state were recorded in eight LGAs; Jos North, five; Jos South, six; Bassa, seven; Bokkos, three; Shendam, one; Kanam, three; Pankshin, one, and Wase, one.

In a motion, the house committee chairman expressed concern over the situation and called on the executive arm of government to direct the ministry of health to curb the spread of the infection in the state.

According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), more than 30,000 suspected cases of cholera have been reported in 22 states and the federal capital territory (FCT) in seven months.

The agency said more than 800 deaths were recorded within the period.

The outbreak hit an all-time high in July, killing over 441 people in the month —  according to a report by SB Morgan (SBM) Intelligence.

The affected states are Benue, Delta, Zamfara, Gombe, Bayelsa, Kogi, Sokoto, Bauchi, Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, Kebbi, Cross River, Niger, Nasarawa, Jigawa, Yobe, Kwara, Enugu, Adamawa, Katsina, Borno and the FCT.