Nigeria cholera outbreak grows: 1,623 cases and 86 deaths

The outbreak of cholera is growing and expanding in the west African country of Nigeria as the bacterial disease is being reported in higher numbers from more states.

Vibrio cholerae
Image/CDC/ Janice Carr

According to the Nigerian news source, The Guardian, statistics from the Ministry of Health Thursday indicated that 1,623 cases had been recorded, while 86 deaths had been reported.

The breakdown of cases is as follows:

Zamfara State has the highest figure of 1,110 cases and 51 deaths while Plateau State has 130 cases and 11 deaths. Others are Lagos State (134 cases, four deaths), Ogun State (115 cases, five deaths), Nasarawa State (105 cases, nine deaths) and Oyo State (29 cases, six deaths).

“The outbreak in the states mentioned earlier has been confirmed by our laboratories to be caused by Vibiro cholerae serotypes 01 and 0139. The affected states are being supported to respond to the outbreak by supplying them with emergency drugs, diagnostic kits and other commodities”, Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Mr. Dan Nwomeh said.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cholera is an acute, diarrheal illness caused by infection of the intestine with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. An estimated 3-5 million cases and over 100,000 deaths occur each year around the world.

The infection is often mild or without symptoms, but can sometimes be severe. Approximately one in 20 (5%) infected persons will have severe disease characterized by profuse watery diarrhea, vomiting, and leg cramps. In these people, rapid loss of body fluids leads to dehydration and shock. Without treatment, death can occur within hours.

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