Cholera: Plateau records 441 suspected cases, 6 deaths - Official

The Commissioner for Health in Plateau, Nimkong Ndam, has said that the state recorded 441 suspected cases of cholera and six deaths from the bacterial disease in the state.

Mr Ndam said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Jos.

He explained that the 441 suspected cases were line-listed, and four persons were confirmed to have cholera by the culture test, while the others were confirmed to have cholera by the rapid diagnostic test.

Mr Ndam said that the cases were recorded in seven Local Government Areas of the state.

The commissioner said that cholera is an acute diarrhoea infection, caused by a bacterium called Vibrio cholera, which is usually found in food or water contaminated by faeces (faecal) and when such is ingested, causes cholera.

Mr Ndam called on the public, who present symptoms of the disease such as copious vomiting and diarrhoea, to go to the nearest health facility.

He called on the public to ensure that they always wash their fruits and vegetables thoroughly and also boil their drinking water, to kill the organism that causes cholera.

The commissioner advised people to imbibe the act of hand washing and sanitising their hands where water is not available, to avoid the spread of the disease.

Mr Ndam appealed to the public to always maintain good sanitation.