Nigeria Reports 3,623 Suspected Cholera Cases, 103 Deaths In 7 Months

Nigeria has witnessed 3,623 suspected cases of cholera and 103 deaths, spread across 187 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), in the last seven months.

During a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Jide Idris, shared these figures, noting that the number of deaths translated to a cumulative case fatality rate of 2.8%.

"There was a 5.6 percent decline in the number of cases in this reporting week (8th -14th July) as compared to the preceding week. We also recorded a drop in the case fatality rate from 2.9% to 2.8%," Idris said, Premium Times reported.

He said previous outbreaks taught that every peak of the outbreak was connected to the rainy season, which will occur in a few weeks. He noted that some northern states, which were considered hotspots, have reported fewer cases due to the delayed start of the rainy season in that region.

Furthermore, the director general highlighted that Nigeria was currently dealing with outbreaks of other serious diseases such as yellow fever, Lassa fever and meningitis. There have been three recorded cases of yellow fever in the country -- two in Ekiti and one in Bayelsa, with one reported death.

Cholera is a disease caused by Vibrio cholerae, which usually spreads through contaminated food and water. Contamination of water sources can occur when infected individuals' feces enter the water, either at the source, during transport or during storage at home.

Food can also become contaminated if handled by someone with the infection, either during preparation or consumption, which can then spread the disease. Symptoms of cholera include sudden, severe, painless and watery diarrhea.

Nigeria declared a state of emergency on cholera last month due to a CFR of 3.5%, which was higher than the national expected average of one percent.

Idris said at the time, "We have been tracking cholera cases and we are documenting them. For the last two or three weeks, the incidence shot up, with a rising number of deaths and that is why we started investigating and this is where Lagos State came in."