The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has reported 1,528 suspected cases of cholera and 53 deaths across 31 States and 107 local government areas (LGAs) in the country.
Cholera is a food and water-borne disease, caused by the ingestion of the organism Vibrio Cholerae in contaminated water and food.
NCDC said water is usually contaminated by the faeces of infected individuals, adding that contamination of drinking water can occur at the source, during transportation, or during storage at home.
The Centre said food may also be contaminated by soiled hands, either during preparation or while eating.
“Beverages or drinks prepared with contaminated water or sold by street vendors, ice, and even tampered commercially-bottled water are known to spread the disease, as have cooked vegetables and fruits freshened with untreated wastewater,” it explained.
Meanwhile, the director-general of NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, said in response to the rapidly increasing cholera cases, a dynamic risk assessment was conducted by subject matter experts on cholera outbreak situation in Nigeria last week.