The government of Ekiti State is appealing to citizens to stay alert, take proactive steps to prevent cholera, and swiftly report any suspected cases to the relevant authorities, enabling swift action to contain potential outbreaks.

Dr. Oyebanji Filani, the Commissioner for Health, emphasized the importance of this in light of recent cholera outbreaks and related deaths in Lagos State and the surrounding region.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a warning regarding the escalating number of cholera incidents throughout the country, a situation exacerbated by the rainy season.

According to the latest report of Wakadaily, there have been 1,141 suspected cases of cholera, with 65 confirmed cases and 30 fatalities, spanning across 96 Local Government Areas in 30 states from January 1 to June 11, 2024.

In order to minimize the risk of cholera transmission, residents are encouraged to practice good hand hygiene, consume safe water and food, prioritize vaccination, utilize proper sanitation facilities, and uphold cleanliness standards.

Furthermore, the Health Commissioner advises keeping vaccinations against diarrheal diseases, especially for children, up to date to safeguard public health.

Filani emphasized, “The state has an operational readiness strategy (based on previous epidemiologic data, risk assessment and identified hotspots) to prevent the outbreak of cholera through the Incident Management System with functional areas/pillars.

“The state has an already established Rapid Response Team at both state and local government areas to actively search for cholera cases. As a result of this, there is heightened surveillance for cholera and other priority diseases across the 16 LGAs in the state,” he highlighted.

Filani described cholera as “a food and water-borne disease, caused by the ingestion of the microorganism Vibrio cholerae in contaminated water and food,” noting that “it is characterised in its most severe form by a sudden onset of acute watery diarrhoea that can lead to death by severe dehydration.”

The commissioner, further advised the public to always “wash their hands frequently with soap and water, before eating and after using the toilet, and to ensure there is access to safe drinking water sources, boil or treat water from questionable sources, as well practice safe food handling, cooking and storage to prevent cholera.”