Cholera kills 60 people in Nigerian capital

Abuja, July 23 At least 60 people have been killed by a cholera outbreak since May in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, a government official said.

A total of 698 cases of the disease have been recorded since May, Xinhua news agency quoted Ramatu Aliyu, the Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as saying on Thursday following a visit to the affected areas of the city.

According to Aliyu, recent days have witnessed a surge in the number of cases, with 94 new cases reported within the past 72 hours, causing the local authorities to intensify community sensitisation on cholera and severe diarrhoea diseases outbreak in the nation's capital.

"The administration would not fold its hands and watch residents die helplessly over preventable diseases, she said.

"We must take every necessary step to curb the further spread."

Cholera is a highly virulent disease characterised in its most severe form by a sudden onset of acute watery diarrhea that can lead to death.

The outbreak of cholera in Nigeria has remained persistent, occurring annually mostly during the rainy season and more often in areas with poor sanitation, overcrowding, lack of clean food and water, and areas where open defecation is common.