By Camillus Eboh
ABUJA (Reuters) – A cholera outbreak has killed 58 people and infected more than 250 across Bauchi State in northeast Nigeria, authorities said on Friday, prompting the launch of new committees to bolster emergency response and prevention efforts.
The disease, which spreads through contaminated food and water, is not uncommon in Nigeria where health officials cite widespread shortages of clean water in rural areas and urban slums.
“Bauchi State has recorded not less than 258 new cases and 58 fatalities,” Deputy Governor Auwal Mohammed Jatau said at the inauguration of two committees. “These outbreaks are often preventable with timely interventions, coordinated responses, and sustained improvements in water, sanitation and hygiene.”
The committees aim to centralise the response and align long-term prevention strategies with a national cholera control plan and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Jatau added.
Nigeria has recorded more than 11,000 suspected cholera cases and over 400 deaths in the past two years, with children under five accounting for most infections, according to the NCDC.
(Reporting by Camillus Eboh in Abuja; Writing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Editing by Peter Graff)
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