The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, announced on Tuesday that as of July 15, 2024, it had registered 3,623 suspected cholera cases and 103 deaths throughout 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Dr. Jide Idris, the NCDC’s Director General, announced at a press briefing in Abuja that the current cholera houtbreak has extended to 187 local government areas, with a cumulative case fatality rate of 2.8% since the beginning of the year.
Idris reported that the major age group afflicted is five years old, with boys accounting for 52% of cases and girls accounting for the remainder.
He did, however, indicate a 5.6% decrease in the number of cases during this reporting week (8th–14th July) when compared to the previous week.
“As of July 15, 2024, we have recorded 3,623 suspected cases and, unfortunately, 103 deaths across 34 states plus the Federal Capital Territory and 187 local government areas, with a cumulative case fatality rate of 2.8 percent since the beginning of the year.
“The predominant age affected is 5 years old, while males account for 52 percent of cases and females account for the rest.
“Furthermore, there was a 5.6 percent decline in the number of cases in this reporting week (8th–14th July) as compared to the preceding week. We also recorded a drop in the case fatality rate from 2.9 percent to 2.8 percent.
“There is a decline in the case fatality rate from week 24, when the spike started, to the present week.
“Whereas ongoing current efforts at the national and some state levels might have been yielding some results and largely responsible for the decline being reported, however, given the trend from previous years, we know it is not uhuru yet.
“The trend analysis from previous outbreaks shows the peak of the outbreak usually coincides with the peak of the rainy season, which is still some weeks ahead.
“Also, some of the northern traditional hotspot states have been reporting fewer cases, which may be connected with the delayed onset of the rainy season in this part of the country,” he said.
He noted that, while almost all states in Nigeria have reported cases of cholera, there appears to be an underreporting of the situation since essential data from the states is not arriving in real-time as predicted based on past years’ trends.
“This is largely due to inadequate resources to support surveillance and disease detection activities at the subnational level,” he said.
