Suspected cholera outbreak in Nigeria;50 dead.

Abuja: The local health authorities on Tuesday confirmed that at least 50 people have been killed in a suspected cholera outbreak this year in Nigeria,

As per reports from the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), who is currently monitoring the situation and coordinating the national response, some eight states across the country had reported the suspected cholera outbreak, as quoted by the Xinhua news agency.

Some eight states across the country had reported the suspected cholera outbreak, as quoted by the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), which is currently monitoring and coordinating the situation in the country.

"As of March 28, a total of 1,746 suspected cases including 50 deaths with a case fatality rate that is 2.9 per cent have been reported," said Chikwe Ihekweazu, head of the NCDC.

The states of Nasarawa, Sokoto, Kogi, Bayelsa, Gombe, Zamfara, Delta and Benue have reported the suspected cholera cases, Ihekweazu added.

The cholera outbreak has remained persistent in Nigeria, occurring almost every year during the rainy season and more often in areas with poor sanitation, overcrowding, lack of clean food and water, and areas where open defecation is common practice.

In 2019, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari had signed an executive order committed to ending open defecation throughout the country by 2025 in consonance with the commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Whilst signing the document, Buhari had also declared a state of emergency on Nigeria's water supply, sanitation and hygiene sector, saying the action will reduce the high prevalence of water-borne diseases which caused preventable deaths in different parts of the country.

In 2018 alone, the NCDC confirmed more than 16,000 cholera-related cases across the country.

(with inputs from IANS)