Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal disease caused by Vibrio cholerae; a gram-negative rod-shaped bacterium, incident manager of the National Cholera Technical Working Group, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Mr Sebastian Yenan said, adding that the disease is a potentially life-threatening, primarily waterborne disease.
In Nigeria, Yenan said cholera is an endemic and seasonal disease, occurring annually mostly during the rainy season and more often in areas with poor sanitation, with the first series of cholera outbreaks reported between 1970 and 1990.
“Cholera disease is high during the onset of raining season. It usually peaks during rainy season, due to flooding that usually wash contaminants from pits and gutters to well, river, where people fetch water to drink, cook, wash fruit,” he explained.
