The number of deaths recorded by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) from cholera outbreak across the country currently stands at 1,178.
The Director-General of the NCDC, Chikwe Ihekweazu, made the disclosure during an interview with NAN on Monday.
As of August 9, the agency had recorded 816 deaths in 22 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).
The NCDC chief stated that as of August 14, Nigeria had recorded 37,819 suspected cases of cholera.
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According to Ihekweazu, the states include; Benue, Delta, Zamfara, Gombe, Bayelsa, Kogi and Sokoto.
Others are Bauchi, Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, Kebbi, Cross River, Niger, Nasarawa, Jigawa, Yobe, Kwara, Enugu, Adamawa, Katsina, Borno, Taraba and the FCT.
“Bauchi (773), Niger (284), Zamfara (253) and Katsina (217) account for 78.1 percent of 1,956 cases reported in the last two weeks,” the NCDC DG said.
“Since the beginning of the year, a total of 1,938 samples have been collected with positive cases as follows – 277 rapid diagnosis test (RDT) positive only, 82 culture positive, 359 RDT and culture positive. The test positivity rate (TPR) for laboratory confirmation by culture is 23 percent.
“No new state reported cases in week 31. A total of 770 suspected cases were reported this week, representing a 34 percent decrease, compared to 1,162 suspected cases recorded in week 30.”
He called on residents of the affected states to ensure strict adherence to hygienic practices, as part of measures to mitigate the spread of infections.
