Angela Onwuzoo With the recent cholera outbreak spreading fast across the country with no fewer than 53 deaths recorded, medical and nutrition experts have advised Nigerians to stop consuming locally made drinks from unknown sources and street hawkers. This, the experts said is to further halt the transmission of the diarrhoeal infection, which is contracted through the ingestion of contaminated food or water. Speaking exclusively to PUNCH Healthwise, the experts said the caution was crucial, noting that some producers of locally made drinks such as zobo, kunu, and tiger nut, package them in used plastic bottles that are sometimes picked from unhygienic places.
They noted that the source of water used in preparing these drinks and the environment where they were prepared are questionable. Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholera. Symptoms of cholera include acute, painless watery diarrhea of sudden onset, with or without vomiting.
It may be associated with nausea, profuse vomiting, and fever. Nigeria is experiencing a significant cholera outbreak, with the NCDC reporting over 1,528 suspected cases in 31 states. The outbreak has notably affected Lagos, Bayelsa, Zamfara, Abia, Cross River, Bauchi, Delta, Katsina, Imo, and Nasarawa states.
Lagos, within the last couple of days, has been ravaged by a cholera outbreak that has claimed no fewer than 29 lives from almost 579 suspected cases. A Public.