The Adamawa State government has announced that 12 persons have died, 308 hospitalised and 244 others were treated following the outbreak of cholera in the state.
Laboratory test results of twelve (12) samples were still pending with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for confirmation.
The details were contained in a statement made available to journalists by the Commissioner of Health and Human Services, Mr Felix Tangwami, on Sunday in Yola.
Tangwami said so far, about 308 people were admitted into hospital, out of which 244 were successfully treated and discharged, while 12 deaths recorded – six at the hospital and the other six at home.
Tangwami explained, “I want to inform you all that we have received results of samples sent to NCDC for confirmation as to what we are dealing with is Acute watery Diarrhea or Cholera.
“Unfortunately out of the 50 samples sent to the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) in Abuja, 30 samples returned positive for cholera, 6 came back Negative, 2 still ongoing isolation and 12 still pending.
“With these results therefore, I want to confirm to the public that there’s an outbreak of cholera in Adamawa State, and people should be cautious of their movements, interactions, personal hygiene, and the source of water they drink.
The Commissioner, however, assured the public that the government through its health workers are doing everything possible to contain the situation as done in the past with other similar outbreaks in the state.
“We ask that people should continue to pray for us as we face this monster, should remain calm and not panic, cooperate with health workers as they go around to sensitise and give professional advice on how we should conduct ourselves.
“The Government has given all the necessary support to ensure this is prevented from spreading to other areas,” the Commissioner assured.
He listed the affected areas to include Alkalawa, Doubeli, Rumde, and Gwadabawa in Yola-North local government area of the state.
