Plateau’s cholera death toll hits 17 out of 1,004 cases

The Plateau State government has said 17 people have died as a result of the cholera outbreak in the state.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Nimkong Lar, gave the update to reporters in Jos.

According to him, out of the 1,004 suspected cases recorded in the state, 980 patients have been discharged, while seven others are still receiving treatment in various hospitals.

Read Also; Bauchi, Kano, Niger, three other register 1,786 suspected cholera casesThe Commissioner said: “So far, we have recorded 1,004 cases, but 980 of them have been treated and discharged, leaving only seven active cases.

“Unfortunately, 17 people have died as a result of the cholera outbreak, which has affected 13 local government areas of the state.”

The breakdown of the affected local government areas are Jos North, Jos South, Riyom, Kanam, Bokkos, Wase, Mangu, Bassa, Jos East, Barkin Ladi, Qua’anpan, Langtang North and Shendam.

Lar, who expressed the commitment of the government toward stopping the spread of the disease advised the people to imbibe the habit of handwashing, or where water is not available, sanitising their hands to avoid the spread of the disease.

“As a government, we are not relenting in our efforts to address the problem, but we also want to appeal to the public to always maintain good sanitation and shun indiscriminate dumping of waste, which causes waste to be washed into various water sources and bodies, especially during the rainy season. This also forms part of the solution when practised by the people,” the Commissioner noted.