Cholera kills 28 in Kano, state confirms 400 new cases
* WHO to donate yellow fever vaccines
The Kano State government has said that 28 persons have died of cholera since the outbreak of the disease between January-July of this year in the state.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Kabiru Ibrahim Getso, who made the disclosure on Tuesday, also said that about 400 new cases of acute watery diarrhea have also been recorded across the 33 local government areas of the state.
Getso, while addressing a press conference to mark the flag off of the first round of 2018 maternal, new born and child health week in Kano state, however, assured that the ministry has instituted several control measures to combat the outbreak which is currently being experienced in 17 states of the federation, including Kano State.
According to him, N32million has been provided to tackle the rapid outbreak, saying that “as you might be aware, the country is currently experiencing increased incidence of acute watery diarrhea and an ongoing cholera outbreak in 17 states.
“The sum of N32 million has been provided to tackle the outbreak, a rapid respond team has been set up as well as the mounting of continuous surveillance for all epidemic prone diseases.
While calling on the collaboration from other stakeholders to tame the tide, Getso added that the control of the outbreak should not be left for the state government alone.
The commissioner advised the general public to adopt safety measures such as; drinking safe and clean water by using chlorine to treat their water, avoid open defecation, and ensure the washing of hands with soap on a regular basis as well as ensuring that suspected cases are reported to a nearby health facility.
In a related development, the World Health Organization (WHO) has pledged to donate 12 million doses of Yellow Fever vaccine in 2018 and 19 million doses in 2019 to support Nigeria’s campaign against the disease.
In a statement made available to journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, WHO Communications Director, Ms. Charity Warigon, stated that the intervention would be carried out with the support of GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance.
Outlining the sequence for the exercise beginning with Danja Local Government Area of Katsina state, Warigon said that the WHO would ensure that persons between the age of nine to 45 years are vaccinated during the ongoing exercise.
He stressed that the campaign will protect at least 154,131 people from the disease, adding that the exercise which is being carried out by the federal government with the support of the organization, would run from August 9-18 in the state.
She said that WHO support to Nigeria was aimed at complementing governments plan to eliminate the disease by 2026 as guided by the Eliminate Yellow Fever Epidemics (EYE) strategy launched by the organization in April.
