Assesment Of Knowledge, Attitude And Practice Towards Cholera Prevention And Control
[A CASE STUDY OF ILORIN METROPOLIS KWARA STATE, NIGERIA]

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The threat of cholera rampaging through Nigeria has long been of concern to many. The crowded settings coupled with minimal water, sanitation, hygiene and health services, present a fearsome breeding ground for cholera to quickly escalate beyond control. In an attempt to avoid this worse-case scenario, a massive response needs to be mounted by the Government to enlighten the general public about the causes of this deadly disease and also ways to avoid the outbreak. Hygiene promoters should be employed to work every day, sharing information on how to avoid contracting the illness and the signs and symptoms of the disease [8].
 In Nigeria, 708 suspected cases of Cholera with 4 laboratory confirmed and 18 deaths (CFR, 2.54%) were reported from ten LGAs (six States; Bauchi – 3, Borno – 593, Kaduna - 28 Kano – 4 and Oyo - 8) in week 36 compared with 14 suspected cases and one death (CFR, 7.14%) reported from Oshodi/Isolo LGA in Lagos State during the same period in 2016. Between weeks 1 and 36 (2017), 2330 suspected Cholera cases with 40 laboratory confirmed and 51 deaths (CFR, 2.19%) from 55 LGAs (17 States) were reported compared with 417 suspected cases and 14 deaths (CFR, 3.36%) from 35 LGAs (11 States) during the same period in 2016 (Figure 7). Between weeks 1 and 52 (2016), 768 suspected Cholera cases with 14 laboratory confirmed cases and 32 deaths (CFR, 4.17%) from 57 LGAs (14 States) were reported compared with 5,301 cases with 29 laboratory confirmed cases and 186 deaths (CFR, 3.51%) from 101 LGAs (18 States and FCT) during the same period in 2015 (Figure 8).