The death toll in the cholera outbreak in Nigeria’s south-eastern Cross River state has risen to 51, according to local officials.
The officials said that the outbreak, which started on Thursday had affected 10 villages that make up the Ekureku clan.
Speaking on the cholera outbreak, the Director-General of the state Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Janet Ekpeyong, said on Sunday that the state government was on top of the situation.
She disclosed that the government had deployed human and material resources to curtail the spread of the disease.
“The state Government has deployed a response team together with representatives from the World Health Organization, the Nigerian Red Cross and Wash Programme.
“The combined team have all intervened accordingly and helped to save lives and prevent further spread of the disease,” she said.
The report by Vanguard newspaper on Tuesday said that another outbreak of cholera had been reported in a remote village in Odukpani Local Government Area of the state.
The newspaper quoted the report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) as saying that Dr Iwara Iwara, Permanent Secretary of the state ministry of health on Monday that the outbreak was reported on Sunday night and that the state government had deployed men and material resources to the area.
Meanwhile, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) told the community during his campaign that he felt their pains and urged them to remain hopeful.
He assured the people that if elected, he would ensure safe drinking water for the people of the state and donated cash as as part of the palliatives to all the 10 affected villages in Ekureku community.
GIK/APA