The Ogun State government has reported that no fewer than 12 individuals have lost their lives as a result of a cholera outbreak in the state over the past month. The outbreak was initially brought to public attention by the Ogun State Ministry of Health on September 17, specifically in the Ijebu North Local Government Area of the state.
According to Dr. Tomi Coker, the Commissioner for Health, the disease has subsequently spread to the Abeokuta North and Abeokuta South Local Governments, with a total of 217 cases documented in Ijebu North alone. She has now confirmed that, out of the 246 cases documented thus far, there have been 12 fatalities.
Coker provided an update on the situation following a meeting with stakeholders at the ministry in Abeokuta. She expressed concern about the relatively high fatality rate of 44.6 percent for a state with a level of education like Ogun State. She attributed the promotion of the cholera outbreak to the widespread practice of open defecation in the state.
Coker urged residents to refrain from open defecation and stressed the importance of maintaining proper hygiene to combat the disease. She also noted that water sources had been contaminated by fecal matter due to open defecation and mentioned that the government had initiated efforts to chlorinate wells in Ijebu North to restore normalcy.