The Cross River State government has rejected the inclusion of the state among the 10 affected by the cholera outbreak by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
Its Commissioner for Health, Dr Henry Ayuk, who faulted the state’s listing in an interview with newsmen in Calabar yesterday, said there had been no reported case of the epidemic in the state since the last incident on January 29.
He alleged that the NCDC relied on old data to include the state among the affected states.
“I don’t know where they got their information from, but I can tell you that there has been no case of cholera here since the last one we had in January when one life was lost. I repeat, there is no confirmation of any case of cholera in Cross River,” he said.
The commissioner, however, assured that a response team was already in place should there be an outbreak in the state.
“As part of our preparedness, we have reactivated our public health emergency response team at the state and local government level to respond and react immediately.
“We are increasing surveillance in the state and educating communities on the need to report any case of diarrhea.
“We are particularly focused on the riverine areas and hot spots such as Etung, Abi, Obubura, Biase, and part of Yakurr Local Government Areas “, he said.
It would be recalled that the Director-General of the NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, had on Tuesday listed 10 states, including Cross River, as those affected by the cholera outbreak.
He listed the states as Lagos, Bayelsa, Zamfara, Abia, Cross River, Bauchi, Delta, Katsina, Imo, and Nasarawa.
He went on to say that a total of 2,102 suspected cholera cases and 63 deaths had been recorded across 33 states and 122 local government areas in the country.
