By Bisola Adeyemo
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has activated a multi-sectoral National Cholera Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) to curb cholera outbreak in 7 states.
Cholera is a preventable and treatable epidemic -prone disease which is transmitted by eating or drinking contaminated food or water.
According to Leadership newspaper, the most affected states are Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Zamfara, Bayelsa and Kaduna.
Director-general of NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, who disclosed this in a statement yesterday, said in the last one month, an increasing number of cholera cases have been reported across states.
His words “Nigeria Records 10,833 Cholera Cases, 289 Deaths, given the risk of large outbreaks across states, NCDC has activated an EOC. The EOC is co-led with the Federal Ministries of Environment and Water Resources, given the link between cholera and water, sanitation and hygiene.
“The National EOC has been supporting states to ensure a coordinated, rapid and effective response to the ongoing outbreak.
“This includes the deployment of National Rapid Response Teams (RRT) to support the response at state level, provision of medical and laboratory supplies, scale up of risk communications amongst other activities.”
He, therefore, urged members of the public to “boil and store water in a clean and safe container before drinking, prepare, cook and store food safely, wash hands frequently with soap under clean running water to prevent infectious diseases including cholera. This is especially important after defecation and before handling food or eating,” he advised.
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