Dr Jide Idris, the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), has stated that a state of emergency might be declared for cholera if the number of cases exceeds a manageable threshold.
Dr Idris spoke in Lagos on Wednesday during the Adetokunbo Alakija Memorial Travel Medicine Lecture, organised by the Nigerian Society of Travel Medicine at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island.
He emphasised that the decision to declare an emergency would be based on data collected from all partners involved in the assessment.
“If they look at the data and decide that the situation has exceeded a particular threshold, then we call it an emergency situation.”
He said the agency was still awaiting reports from the team conducting the investigation.
So when they bring the data and it goes beyond a particular threshold, we declare an emergency, he added.
Responding to questions after his address on ‘Collaborative Platforms and Networks, Strengthening Travel Medicine in Nigeria,’ Dr Idris noted that the agency has been conducting a risk assessment.
He said, “We have been tracking cholera cases and documenting them. For the last two or three weeks, the incidence shot up, with a rising number of deaths, and that is why we started investigating, and this is where Lagos State came in.”
He stressed the importance of prevention and preparation in combating disease outbreaks, saying:
“We must prepare; prevention means creating the facilities that you will need, the isolation centres, and looking at the human resources you have.”
Nigeria is currently facing a cholera outbreak in 30 states. The NCDC’s recent report indicated that from January 1 to June 11, 2024, over 1,141 suspected and more than 65 confirmed cases of cholera have been reported, resulting in over 30 deaths across 96 LGAs in 30 states.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Ministry of Health has reported 350 suspected cases of cholera in 29 wards across multiple LGAs, with 17 confirmed cases and 15 deaths attributed to severe dehydration from delayed treatment.
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