The Kano State Ministry of Health says five people have been confirmed to have died from 189 cholera cases recorded in the state of Kano from April 2018.
The Commissioner of the Department of Health in Nigeria, Aminu Ibrahim, confirmed this Tuesday to a room full of journalists.
A case of diarrhoea and vomiting was reported in Dambatta on April 16, 2022. It was investigated promptly.
Since then, there have been 189 cases in 20 LGAs of which 184 have fully recovered and 5 deaths. The commissioner said this.
“In Nigeria, the problem of sanitation is a common issue, especially during the rainy season. Ignoring or delaying actions to cut down on faecal-oral disease transmission will only increase the risk of outbreaks like cholera.”
The number of cholera cases in Nigeria has been reported as 2,339 since January of this year.
Mr Ibrahim said the prompt and collaborative response by the State has greatly reduced the spread of Cholera.
“It might interest you to know that last year by now, we (Kano) recorded 12,116 cases and 329 deaths across the state,” said the official.
He said it’s the season, and it’s a type of bacteria called V. Cholerae which is a Gram-negative bacillus.
People who are affected by acute watery diarrhoea that has or has not included vomiting should be promptly assessed for possible cholera.
According to the official, risk factors for cholera transmission include poor personal and environmental sanitation, food and water contamination, poor waste disposal, and open defecation.
A spokesperson said Governor Abdullahi Ganduje’s ministry is committed to providing good health care services by eliminating diseases in the state.
“In addition, we want to call on the general public to ensure good personal and environmental hygiene and sanitation, avoid open defecation, maintain hand washing with soap, safe preparation and safe storage of food. We need to institute measures for open defecation as well,” according to Mr Ibrahim.