Kaduna records 1,665 cholera cases in five months

The Kaduna state government says it recorded 1,665 cases of cholera between April and August.

Amina Mohammed-Baloni, the state commissioner for health, disclosed this on Thursday during a press briefing.

The commissioner said the cases were recorded in 19 of the 23 LGAs in the state.

She identified the affected LGAs as Soba, Makarfi, Giwa, Chikun, Sabon Gari, Zaria, Kaduna North, Kachia, Jaba, Kubau, Lere, Sanga, Birnin-Gwari, Kaduna South, Kadan, Igabi and Kajuru .

The commissioner attributed the outbreak to poor hygiene and sanitation.

She said the state has been monitoring the situation and is currently recording less active cases.

“In April this year we were informed of cases of vomiting and diarrhea in some local government areas where we sent our response teams and took samples for testing and it returned positive for cholera,” Mohammed-Baloni said.

“Since then, we have been monitoring them . We treated 842 and discharged them while we still have 14 active cases now on treatment.”

Mohammed-Baloni said there are secondary health facilities in the LGAs for management of the disease and added that the ministry has distributed drugs for management and chlorine for purification of water.

“We know that cholera is seasonal and occurs mostly during rainy seasons, I urge residents to avoid building latrines close to their wells and observe good hygiene and sanitation,” she said.

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

Chikwe Ihekweazu, director-general of the NCDC, said more than 800 deaths were also recorded in the last seven months.

Editor’s note: The featured image is for illustrative purposes.