If report reaching the news desk of CEOAFRICA.com is anything to by, then it can be categorically stated that there is outbreak of Cholera in Nigeria.

The Federal Ministry of Health, in a statement issued yesterday, confirmed that over 86 people has died from 1,623 cholera cases in six states across the federation.

While giving an update about the outbreak of the disease in the country, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, who is the Minister of Health, listed states and cases recorded thus: Zamfara: 51deaths out of 1,110 cases, Nasarawa State: 9 deaths out of 105 cases, Plateau State: 11 deaths out of  130 cases, Lagos State: 4 deaths from 134 cases, Oyo State: six deaths from 29 cases and Ogun State with 5 deaths from 115 cases.

“These are estimates, because trickles of incidences and mortalities may still be coming. However, in Sokoto and Katsina states, the gastro-enteritis outbreaks have not been proven to be cholera. While further investigations continue, only confirmed cases are included in the current statistics.

“The outbreak in the states mentioned earlier has been confirmed by our laboratories to be caused by Vibiro cholerae serotypes 01 and 0139,” the Minister remarked.

He also said the affected states are being supported with emergency drugs, diagnostic kits and other commodities.

“The Federal Ministry of Health realizes that the affected states will require further assistance and efforts are being made to upscale our technical and material assistance to those states immediately,” he said.

The minister then directed the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, to immediately co-ordinate response activities and report to him daily on both the patterns of occurrence, efforts at achieving total control of these outbreaks as well as the status of the control.

Other steps taken to check the menace include mobilization and sensitization of clinicians and relevant healthcare workers in areas affected for patient management and care and immediate enhancement of health promotion/public awareness campaign to enhance among others good personal and community hygiene behaviour and encourage food hygiene practices.

He advised that people should imbibe hygiene practices include hand-washing with soap after visiting the toilet and also before eating; cultivation of the habit of regular and intermittent hand-washing with soap and water and desisting from open defecation.

Others include boiling of water before drinking, protection of food from house flies, thorough washing of fruits and vegetables before eating them and environmental cleanliness.

All Federal health facilities nationwide have been directed to provide free treatment to cholera patients.