In 2022 there were several outbreaks of infectious diseases across the country. Among these diseases are cholera, monkeypox, Lassa fever and COVID-19. While some of these diseases were easy to control, others posed real challenges to healthcare workers and spiralled out of control in some cases.
Dataphyte reviews the number of fatalities recorded due to some infectious diseases across the country in the first ten months of 2022.
Cholera
Between January and October 2022, 466 persons died from cholera, according to the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC)’s Cholera Situation Report. Yobe, Borno, and Taraba were the most affected states, with 19,228 suspected cases reported in 31 states and 258 LGAs. Compared to 2021, newly confirmed cases have reduced by 82%.
Poor water sanitation and hygiene are the chief causes of cholera. Without the proper sanitary infrastructure and a consistent, clean water supply, communities are more at risk of cholera transmission.
Once the symptoms are apparent, cholera is quite simple to identify and, in certain situations, does not need to be tested. Health workers fear that recent cases of widespread flooding across the country may lead to increased cases of cholera.
Nigeria saw its first cholera outbreak in 1972, and subsequent episodes have been sporadic. The greatest cholera outbreak in recent times occurred in 2021.
Lassa Fever
In 108 local government areas throughout 36 states, the NCDC recorded 994 confirmed cases of Lassa fever and 158 fatalities. Compared to 2021, there were 131% more cases of Lassa fever in 2022.
Lassa fever is a rat-transmitted viral hemorrhagic disease primarily seen in West Africa. The principal virus transmission vectors to people are multimammate rats, whose urine and faeces carry and transmit the Lassa virus to humans. Lassa fever is endemic in Nigeria, and the dry season, between December and April, is when cases reach their annual peak.
Monkeypox
Between January and October, there were 604 confirmed cases of monkeypox in 31 states in Nigeria and seven deaths, according to the NCDC. The number of cases in 2022 increased compared to the reported cases in 2021. In 2021 there were 34 confirmed cases in 9 states but no deaths. Between 2021 and 2022, there was a 1,676% increase in confirmed cases.
Close contact is the main method of transmission for the smallpox-like virus that causes monkeypox. Monkeypox first appeared in Nigeria in 1971, and it reappeared in 2017. More confirmed cases were recorded in the first seven months of 2022 than in the four years prior, from 2018 to 2021 combined.
The smallpox vaccine, according to the WHO, can guard against monkeypox. The vaccinia vaccine, a novel third-generation vaccine for preventing smallpox and monkeypox, is another guard against monkeypox.
COVID-19
Nigeria has recorded a total of 266,057 confirmed cases and deaths of 3,155 from the COVID-19 virus since 2020.
In Nigeria, COVID-19 spread steadily from imported cases and an elitist pattern to communal transmission, and in 2020 WHO categorised Nigeria as one of the 13 high-risk African countries concerning the spread of COVID-19. Since COVID-19 spreads via contact with an infected person’s mouth or nose in small liquid particles when they cough, sneeze, speak, sing or breathe, it became an infectious illness of significant concern to the world. Covid upended the customary patterns of close physical contact.
Nigeria has so far been able to control COVID-19, with few cases and deaths reported in 2022. Apart from basic hygiene practices that help prevent the spread of COVID-19, the vaccine also helps significantly lower the risk of getting very sick, being hospitalised and dying from COVID-19.
A total of 91,552,088 vaccine doses have been given as of November 13, 2022, in Nigeria.
Vaccination, water, and sanitation hygiene can help control the re-occurrence of some of these diseases. Educating people in high-risk areas of these diseases is another preventive measure that can be taken to curb the recurrence of these diseases.
About 350 quick-response medical personnel are being trained by the Nigerian government and the World Health Organization (WHO) to handle any health emergency in light of the growing concerns about disease spread from the 2022 flood disasters that rampaged at least 30 of Nigeria’s 36 states and the FCT.
infectious diseases
Adijat Kareem is a research and data analyst at Dataphyte with a background in Economics. She is passionate about data and storytelling in driving social change and innovation.
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