Cholera kills 33 in remote northwest Nigeria
At least 33 people have died and hundreds have been hospitalized following an outbreak of Cholera in the remote northwestern Nigerian state of Sokoto, officials said on Wednesday.
The victims, including women and children, died over the past three days in three villages in the Sabon Birni district, officials said.
"Following the outbreak, 19 people died in Gidan Gero village and two others in Maruda village,” said Abdullahi Muhammed, director of health in Sabon Birni district.
A government spokesman said 12 others died in Faru village, and that the disease has spread to two other districts, but casualties there are unknown.
Cholera can kill within 24 hours by inducing vomiting and diarrhea that cause severe dehydration and shock. It is treatable with a mixture of water and rehydration salts.
The bacteria spread through contact with feces, associated with heavy rains that flood latrines and contaminate sources of drinking water.
It usually kills the poorest people who cannot afford basic health care. It can be prevented by washing hands before handling food and avoiding contaminated food and water.
At least 150 Nigerians have died of Cholera since April when the rainy season began. Nigeria’s health care system is one of the worst in Africa, and two-thirds of its 140 million population lives on less than a dollar a day.
In neighboring Niger, where millions of people are facing food shortages after last year’s drought, at least 15 people have died in the past few months out of a total of 132 declared cases, according U.N. officials.
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