There has been no cholera outbreak or death in Ebonyi – state’s health commissioner

Dr Daniel Umezurike, the Ebonyi Commissioner for Health, has denied reports of cholera outbreaks or deaths in the state.

Umezurike made the announcement on Friday in Abakaliki, following an assessment visit to Ndiegu Amagu, in the state’s Ikwo Local Government Area, where the outbreak was said to have occurred.

According to the commissioner, when the outbreak was first reported in early November 2021, officials from the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization, and other relevant agencies visited the area.

“We performed rapid diagnostic tests, and all tested samples came back negative.”

“We also sent the collected samples to the reference laboratory in Abuja, and all of the microscopies came back negative,” he explained.

When the current ‘rumor’ of the outbreak spread, he said, relevant officials were dispatched to the area and interacted extensively with members of the community.

“We went to the area to confirm the rumor, attend to the sick people among them, collect and test samples, and educate the public about the disease.”

“We examined four people suspected of having the disease and found no trace of it after a thorough medical examination.”

“One said she defecated in the morning of November 26th, hasn’t defecated since, and it wasn’t watery.”

“The other individuals were admitted to a nearby health facility, with one displaying pregnancy symptoms.”

“Another one said he’d been admitted to the facility since Nov. 24, while the other had been discharged,” he stated.

Umezurike stated that relevant health partners would be closely monitoring developments in the area and would be ready to respond to any emergency.

“When there is panic over reports of an outbreak, people can attribute any death to cholera or any of such diseases,” he said.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), speculations about the outbreak were heightened on November 25 when the council’s Chairman, Chief Steve Orogwu, confirmed fatalities from the outbreak.

In a statement signed by his media aide, the council chief revealed that nine people had died as a result of the outbreak, as opposed to the 65 reported on social media.