Woman rushed to Abuja hospital dies after exhibiting cholera symptoms

An unidentified woman who was rushed to the National Hospital, Abuja, has died after exhibiting symptoms of cholera.

The woman was taken to the emergency unit of the hospital by her neighbours on Monday.

One of her neighbours, who identified himself as Hamzat, told TheCable that the deceased had been vomiting and purging since Sunday.

“We live in Kabusa area, around Lokogoma. She has been vomiting and purging since yesterday,” Hamzat said.

Shortly after she was taken to the emergency unit, a doctor came out to inquire the medical history of the patient.

After getting the information, the doctor went back inside and subsequently resurfaced alongside a colleague.

The doctor proceeded to examine the patient and afterwards announced that she was no more breathing. 

“We are sorry sir, she is no longer with us,” the doctor told the neighbours who brought her in.

When TheCable asked the doctor if it was a case of cholera, she said the patient would need to be tested to arrive at such a conclusion. 

“We can’t conclude yet because the patient is already dead. And as it stands we cannot say it was cholera because she is dead. If not, we would have been able to run some tests to know,” the doctor said.

There has been a raging cholera outbreak in the country in the last few weeks.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), had on June 10, said six states reported 1,786 suspected cases of cholera between June 20 and 26.

He listed the states as Bauchi, 1,239 cases; Kano, 362 cases; Niger, 62 cases; Zamfara, 55 cases; Kaduna, 59 cases and Plateau, nine cases.

On Sunday, Ramatu Aliyu, minister of state for the federal capital territory (FCT), said the six area councils have recorded 604 suspected cases of cholera with 54 deaths.

Similarly, Ikechukwu Obi, Enugu commissioner of health, on Saturday said seven people have died of the disease in the state.

TheCable recently spoke with some survivors in Bauchi and Kano states who shared their battle to recover from the bacterial disease.