As the number of deaths from the most recent cholera outbreak gets to forty, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control reports that the nation is in lack of. sufficient vaccine supplies. Dr. Jide Idris, the Director General of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention, stated that Nigeria has ordered additional cholera vaccines from donor organizations, though the exact delivery date is still unknown.
In order to prevent the acute diarrheal sickness from spreading throughout the nation, the head of the NCDC mentioned the importance of immunizations and other control measures.
Cholera disease caused by the ingestion of contaminated food which contains the bacterium, Vibrio cholerae.
According to reports on Saturday by PUNCH investigation, 4,364 Nigerians have died out of the 139,730 people suspected to have contracted the ailment nationwide over the course of the previous four years. The Nigeria Center for Disease Control gave weekly updates on the disease situation between 2021 and 2024, from which the incidence rate was analyzed.
Remember how the NCDC had recently cautioned the public about the raving number of cholera cases that are occurring nationwide as the rainy season gets closer? The agency claimed that from January 1 to June 11, 2024, a sum of 1,141 suspected cases, 65 confirmed cases, and 30 deaths from cholera had been reported from 96 local government units in 30 states of the federation. The statement was signed by Idris on Thursday, June 13, 2024.
The 10 states that accounted for 90% of the cholera cases were named by the NCDC as follows: Bayelsa, Zamfara, Abia, Cross River, Bauchi, Delta, Katsina, Imo, Nasarawa, and Lagos. At that time, the Lagos State Ministry of Health syated that it had identified 350 probable instances of the illness in 29 wards spread over several LGAs, of which 17 cases had been verified. Severe dehydration brought on by a delayed presentation was the cause of 15 fatalities, the ministry claimed.
On Friday, however, the state’s health commissioner, prof. Akin Abayomi, announced that the state’s cholera incidence rate had been upped to 417 suspected cases, 35 confirmed cases, and 24 death cases.
a post made on his Instagram handle on Friday afternoon read, “The situation report as of June 19, 2024, indicated 417 suspected cases, 35 confirmed cases, and 24 recorded deaths.”
“Let’s adhere strictly to personal and environmental hygiene. Let’s stay safe #ForAGreaterLagos.”
The state’s Agege, Badagry, Ikeja, Mushin, Ajeromi-Ifelodun, Epe, Ikorodu, Ojo, Alimosho, and Eti-Osa regions, he mentioned, were the sources of the instances.
Kosofe, Oshodi-Isolo, Amuwo-Odofin, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos Island, Shomolu, Apapa, Ifako-Ijaiye, Lagos Mainland, and Surulere were among the other places he highlighted.
Further on , Dr. Tomi Coker, the Ogun State Commissioner for Health, told the Punch correspondent on Thursday that the state had 14 cases and one death on record.
This shows that the incidence rate of the disease in the nation for this year has reached 1,222 suspected cases, 88 confirmed cases, and 40 fatalities in the last 12 days.
However, according to the NCDC, the affected states are receiving assistance from a multi sectoral National Cholera Technical Working Group that was headed by the center and included representatives from the Federal Ministries of Environment and Water Resources, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, and some other sponsors.
With the current incidence rate from Ogun and Lagos, investigations by Saturday PUNCH discovered that a total of 4,364 deaths had been documented out of the 139,730 people suspected to have been affected by the disease across the country since 2021
A sum of 111,062 suspected cases of the disease with 3,604 deaths in 435 local government areas in 34 states of the federation had been reported in 2021, according to one of the NCDC’s cholera situation reports for week 52.
An additional Cholera Week 52 report, which the correspondent examined, was released by the NCDC and stated that in 2022, the nation had 23,763 suspected cases and 592 deaths circulated among 271 Local governments in 33 states of the federation.
The incidence rate of the disease had decreased in 2023 as 3,683 suspected cases and 128 deaths were recorded nationwide across 166 Local governments.
In 2024, there are 1,141 suspected cases and 30 reported deaths across 84 LGs in 30 states of the federation, showing a further decline in the disease’s prevalence.
In comparison to the previously reported rate to the global health organization in 2021, there has been a 100% increase to 473,000 cholera cases reported to the World Health organization in 2022.
Further on , another 700,000 cases were predicted in 2023, and the most recent WHO data revealed that 145,900 cases of cholera and 1,766 deaths had been recorded from 24 countries in five WHO.
Africa came out with the largest numbers in the most recent global cholera rate, followed by the regions of the Americas, Europe, South-East Asia, and the Eastern Mediterranean.
Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, the director of the NCDC mentioned that although the National Primary Health Care Development Agency is taking care of the cholera vaccine issue, the health minister has asked donor organizations for additional vaccines.
“I know that the minister has requested more vaccines. But, I don’t know when they will come, because other countries also make requests internationally. I know that when they come, NPHCDA will decide how to distribute or use them.
“We don’t have enough to prevent an outbreak, because we need to give these things before that time. The problem is that to get vaccines, we need to plan ahead, and we don’t have the funds. Most countries plan ahead. When it comes to health security, we are supposed to stockpile some things in anticipation of an emergency.
“We don’t manufacture vaccines. We get them from donor agencies, just like any other country does. Whatever they supply will not be enough for us to use and in any case, it doesn’t give long-lasting immunity, so it has to be a combination of all control measures.
The minister has requested support for these vaccines. He told me that last week. When they will come, I don’t know. However, we don’t necessarily have to rely on all those things if we can adopt other control measures,” the NCDC boss stated.
The government needs to make preparations ahead as a measure to ensure that there are always sufficient vaccines available to help prevent infections, Dr. Idris mentioned, pointing out that the demand for cholera vaccines surpasses the availability. In addition, he cautioned that Nigeria needs to adopt a variety of preventive approaches to stop the cholera spread as vaccinations do not always work.
“Cholera vaccine demand is far ahead of supply so most people who need them place orders and plan ahead. It is the same thing with all vaccines, not just cholera.
“We also know that cholera vaccines are not long-lasting. They only work for some time, so a combination of vaccines where necessary and all other preventive measures are the mainstay of the effort to curb the infection.
“The mainstay is to treat people if they are dehydrated, so they can replace lost fluids, maintain personal, environmental and sanitary hygiene, etc. We talk about boiling water before eating, washing hands after using the toilet, and before and after preparing food. If anybody suspects contamination, they should boil water before drinking and using it. It is a combination of all these preventive measures that will go a long way in helping to curb the outbreak,” Dr Idris stated.
Furthermore, the NCDC Director General stated that the key to fighting the disease in Nigeria is solely prevention in a recent appearance on Channels Television.
Idris stated that as the rainy season has become heavy, there are possibilities of increasing cases of cholera in the country. He said, “The Nigerian Meteorological Agency has said that the rains this year are going to be heavier, and when you have rains, you’re going to have floods, and this leads to contamination of our water sources. So, the chances are that cholera cases will increase.”
The DG stated that the agency was carrying out a risk assessment and had notified all the states about the outbreak. The DG blamed the infection’s wide spread to poor environmental sanitation, inadequate personal and environmental hygiene, and a lack of access to clean water. He maintained that access to sanitary facilities and clean water for citizens should be made available by state governments.
Professor Tanimola Akande, a public health expert, and consultant physician Kenechukwu Igwegbe have charged Nigerians to consider cholera vaccination as a preventive measure to guard against the acute diarrheal illness.
The medical experts mentioned thar cholera vaccinations were not as widely known as other vaccines, because they were typically given to selected populations, such as tourists visiting countries that had active transmission of cholera or administered during cholera outbreaks, or to some populations that are at risk.
Due to the yearly recurrences of the cholera outbreaks, Prof Akande made suggestions that “preventive vaccination could be done in anticipation to the cholera outbreaks.”
The World Health Organisation has identified three WHO-prequalified oral cholera vaccines as Dukoral®, Shanchol™, and Euvichol-Plus®. All three vaccines needs two2 doses for full protection.
Although, Akande mentioned that each of vaccines gave different levels of protection. “The protection varies from 65 per cent to about 89 per cent, depending on the type of vaccine. Most of the vaccines give protection for two years. There is however a type of cholera vaccine that gives protection of over five years when given in two doses,” he stated.
Igwegbe also stated that cholera vaccines were not popular, because they are seen as special vaccines that are paid for before obtaining them.
However, He still charged people to for the vaccines even with the current outbreak. “Even now there is an outbreak, if a person tests and is negative, they can get the vaccine. When there is no outbreak, people can still take it.”
The current outbreak in Lagos State has been traced an unregistered tiger nut drink that is being widely sold in the state.
The Special Advisor on Health to the Lagos State Governor, Dr. Kemi Ogunyemi, told the correspondent from The Punch that the Environmental Health Services officials from the Ministry of Environment and Health were able to trace the cholera outbreak in the Eti=Osa Local Government Area to one very specific brand of unregistered tiger nut drink.
“When we noticed an increase in cases in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos specifically, we went there to investigate. We carried out a survey and found that the common denominator, which was one of the deadly factors, was a tiger nut drink. People who came to the hospitals all identified that they had drunk tiger nut drink.
“We couldn’t just take their word for it, so we had to take that drink and test it to see what was in it. We immediately sent people out to look for those selling it, so we could take a sample. We found empty bottles with a name on them, but we discovered that it wasn’t even registered with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, the regulatory body that ensures the safety of consumables,” Dr Kemi revealed.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Correctional Service has upped its efforts to halt the cholera outbreak all around its institutions in an effort to protect the health of its personnel and prisoners.
The initiative was taken as a measure to face the growing health concerns.
The strict measures of the NCoS were reiterated by Abubakar Umar, a spokesman for the commission who spoke with a correspondent.
“Our primary mandate includes the secure and humane custody of inmates, ensuring their welfare in all aspects, including health.
“Our primary mandate includes the secure and humane custody of inmates, ensuring their welfare in all aspects, including health,” The NCOs spokesman said.
Additionally, a source from the NPHCDA who talked with Saturday PUNCH with conditions of anonymity due to lack of chance to give out information, stated that the cholera vaccine has not been regularly provided for health care facilities in Nigeria.
