Cholera: Lagos government confirms 15 deaths

Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, has announced an outbreak of severe cholera, which has led to the deaths of 15 people in the state so far in the past few days.

Abayomi, who made this announcement on Saturday, revealed that 350 suspected cases had been reported, with 17 confirmed to be cholera and 15 deaths so far.

He said following the initial alert and advisory the state Ministry of Health issued on the cholera outbreak, the government has activated its Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, PHEOC, at Mainland Hospital, Yaba, Lagos.

According to him, the PHEOC was convened to tackle the increasing number of severe gastroenteritis cases across multiple local government areas in the state.

“The laboratory investigation and test results have so far confirmed cholera sub-type O-1. This subtype is associated with a more severe disease. The pattern of new cases per day varies across LGAs, according to our ongoing surveillance and monitoring updates.

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“Although this is an increase from the numbers published 3 days ago, cases are now dramatically subsiding in previously affected LGAs due to our interventions and surveillance efforts, however, we are recording some new cases in previously unaffected LGAs, signalling the need for residents to adhere strictly to precautionary, personal, and environmental hygiene measures,” the commissioner said.

Abayomi noted that the state Ministry of Health’s high-level team had concluded a meeting with the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr. Jide Idris, and his team, as well as key partners from the World Health Organisation, WHO, to ensure all interventions were optimised.

He, therefore, called on the residents to support the state government’s efforts by adhering strictly to precautionary measures, cooperating with health authorities, and participating in community-wide sanitation activities to mitigate the spread of cholera, particularly as the Eid al-Adha celebration approaches.