Zamfara State Commissioner for Health, Dr Aishatu Anka has disclosed that the state recorded 1188 cases of cholera and 50 cases of diphtheria across the 14 Local Government Areas since December 2022 when the diseases first broke out.
Dr. Anka made this disclosure while distributing medical consumables at the Shagari Cholera Treatment Centre in Gusau on Wednesday.
She stated that Cholera is prevalent in Gusau Anka, Bakura, and Bukkuyum Local Government Areas of the state.
The commissioner said that the Governor of the State, Dauda Lawan has visited some of the patients at Anka General Hospital and now “I am here at Shagari Cholera Treatment Centre to equally assess the patient’s response to treatment.”
She said 40 people had died out of the 1188 cases so far recorded.
She also confirmed the emergence of 50 Diphtheria cases, with two deaths recorded.
Anka said that an investigation was being conducted to ascertain the extent of the spread of the disease.
She lauded the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention for establishing a state centre at Yariman Bakura Specialist Hospital Gusau, and urged communities to ensure sanitation of their environment and imbibe effective personal hygiene.
She called on the public to make sure they consumed only clean water as doing so would enable the state to effectively curtail further spread of the disease.
