At least 54 people have died from the outbreak of cholera over the last two months in Bauchi State, northeastern Nigeria.
At least 54 people have died from the outbreak of cholera over the last two months in Bauchi State, northeastern Nigeria.
However, Bauchi State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Sani Malami, who confirmed the deaths on Thursday, said the situation would have been averted had the victims sought medical attention rather than remaining at home.
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“From our records, about 54 people have died in their homes. This was because people do not heed to medical advice to take their sick ones to the hospital”, Malami said.
“Five people died in our facilities, but there were lot of deaths in the homes because people refused to take their relations to the hospitals”.
Allaying fears of more deaths, he assured that the state government has since brought the situation under control through proactive measures particularly in raising awareness on the outbreak.
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“The Bauchi State Ministry of Health has so far visited over 20,000 homes to advocate timely report of any suspicion of the disease to the nearest health facility for quick diagnosis”, he said, adding that more than 60,000 wells in Bauchi town have been chlorinated against the cholera virus.
The news of the cholera outbreak comes days after the Federal Government confirmed the outbreak of dengue heamorrhagic fever — caused by the Dengue fever virus (DFV), and transmitted by mosquitoes mostly in urban and semi-urban areas — in north-central Nasarawa State.
Minister of Health, Professor Onyeabuchi Chukwu also expressed fears yesterday that the spread of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease to neighbouring West African countries has rendered Nigeria susceptible to an outbreak.
Since January 2014, the virus has hit a number of West African countries, a total of 137 cases resulting in 86 deaths.
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