3,623 cholera cases, 103 deaths recorded in 34 states —NCDC

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) on Tuesday said it had recorded 3,623 suspected Cholera cases and 103 deaths across 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory as of July 15, 2024.

Director-General of NCDC, Dr. Jide Idris, who disclosed this while briefing Journalists in Abuja, said the outbreak has now spread to 187 local government areas, with a cumulative case fatality rate of 2.8 per cent since the beginning of the year.

Idris noted that the dominant age affected was five years, while males reached 52 percent and the rest were females.

However, he said there was a 5.6 per cent decrease in the number of cases in this reporting week (July 8-14) compared to the previous week.

He said: “As of July 15, 2024, we have recorded 3,623 suspected cases and, sadly, 103 deaths across 34 states plus the Federal Capital Territory and 187 Local Government Areas, with a cumulative case fatality rate of 2.8 per cent since the beginning of the year. The most affected age is 5 years while males account for 52 per cent of the cases and females account for the rest.

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“In addition, there was a 5.6 per cent decrease in the number of cases in this reporting week (July 8-14) compared to the previous week. We also recorded a decrease in the case fatality rate from 2.9 per cent to 2.8 per cent. Clearly, there has been a decrease in the case fatality rate from week 24 when the surge started to this week. While the ongoing efforts at the national level and some state levels may have paid off and are largely responsible for the reported decrease, however, given the trend from previous years, we know that it is not Uhuru.

“Trend analysis from previous outbreaks shows that the peak of the outbreak usually coincides with the peak of the monsoon season, which is still a few weeks away. In addition, some northern states that are traditional hotspots have reported fewer cases, which may be related to the delayed onset of the monsoon season in these parts of the country.

“This is largely due to a lack of resources to support disease surveillance and detection activities at the subnational level.

“In addition, this may be further complicated by the influence of political overtones in reporting cholera, which some consider to be a stigma or a surrogate indicator of the disease that indicates the inability of affected communities/people to gain access to clean water and other basic life facilities.”

He said apart from the ongoing cholera outbreak in the country, there was a significant increase in the incidence of other diseases that are prone to epidemics such as yellow fever, Lassa fever, meningitis, among others.

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