Cholera kills 75 out of 374, official figures claim

A record 374 people have been affected in the latest outbreak of cholera, which has killed dozens, health minister Onyebuchi Chukwu has said. As at yesterday, some 75 people have died in the outbreak, which has spread through a handful of states—Lagos, Oyo, Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina, Plateau, Nasarawa. He spoke at 2013 Physicians’ Week, organized […]

A record 374 people have been affected in the latest outbreak of cholera, which has killed dozens, health minister Onyebuchi Chukwu has said.

As at yesterday, some 75 people have died in the outbreak, which has spread through a handful of states—Lagos, Oyo, Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina, Plateau, Nasarawa.

He spoke at 2013 Physicians’ Week, organized by the Nigerian Medical Association.
It is among the first complete official data on the outbreak nationwide. However, data emerging last week on the cholera epidemic put the figures incomparably higher.

In one report, Zamfara alone recorded 1,117 cases and confirmed 72 deaths in two weeks, though the figures do not include those who may have died at home or before reaching hospitals.

However, Chukwu said much of the outbreak was being brought under control in respective states, but blamed the outbreak on poor personal hygiene, open defecation and poor sanitation—all behaviours not solely under the purview of the health ministry.
“What now leads to the rapid spread of cholera is lack of personal hygiene—people go to latrine or make urine and they don’t wash their hands,” he warned.

Chukwu urged for stronger efforts across concerned sectors to address open defecation and poor sanitation—both risk behaviours that encourage the spread of cholera.

“These basic things will ensure we no longer have cholera in Nigeria,” he said.