Kano (Nigeria) (AFP) – Cholera has killed 50 people in Northwest Nigeria in the past week, health officials said on Monday, in the latest outbreak of the disease which has claimed thousands of lives across the country since 2010.
The latest infections struck Zamfara State where residents began drinking water directly from streams and untreated wells after a main water pipeline was forced to be shut.
“We have recorded an outbreak of cholera in the past one week in six local government areas of the state which has resulted in the death of 50 people while several others have been hospitalised,” Zamfara State Health Commissioner, Kabiru Janyau told AFP.
Road construction around state capital Gusau forced officials to close a main pump leading to water shortages in several parts of the state, Janyau said.
“People have turned to streams and open wells for drinking water which led to the outbreak,” he said.
Cholera, a highly contagious intestinal infection, is transmitted by water soiled by human waste. The disease leads to diarrhoea, dehydration and death, if untreated.
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