Seven lives have been lost following an outbreak of what is suspected to be cholera at Tella town in Gassol Local Government Area of Taraba State.
The state Commissioner for health, Dr. Innocent Vakkai, who confirmed the incident in Jalingo, on Monday, August 23, also disclosed that several others had been hospitalized in health care centres in the area with symptoms of severe stooling and vomiting.
Vakkai said that a team of medical experts from the state ministry of health had been dispatched to the area to investigate the cases and report back.
Alhaji Musa Chul, the Chairman of Gassol Local Government Area, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in a telephone interview that at least 25 persons were on admission at the Tella Maternity Clinic after exhibiting symptoms of cholera.
He confirmed receiving a report from Tella on Saturday evening that three people had died of vomiting and strolling, and that on Sunday morning he dispatched a health team from the local government to the town to investigate the incident.
The chairman said that before the arrival of the local government medical team, four others were also said to have lost their lives on Sunday, due to severe vomiting and strolling.
According to him, the worst hit area of the outbreak is Unguwan Kabawa, a suburb of Tella, where the first suspected cases were reported on Saturday evening.