Seventeen people have been confirmed dead in 1,617 reported suspected
cases as a cholera outbreak continues to ravage Kwara State in
North-central Nigeria.
The figures were made known by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control
(NCDC) in its weekly epidemiological report for Week 26 released on
Tuesday.
The agency further stated that the suspected cases were reported as at
the end July 9 with 13 laboratory samples confirming the disease and a
case fatality rate of 1.1 percent recorded.
According to the agency,children under the age of five remain the most
affected with 460, (28.4 percent) of the cases reported with the male
population accounting for 51.6 percent of the cases.
According to the health agency, 818, (50.5 percent) of the suspected
cases were reported from Ilorin West, the percentage remaining constant
from the previous week.With the continued disease spread and increasing
death toll in the state, NCDC has enjoined Nigerians to maintain
hygienic environmental practices in order to reduce the spread of the
disease.