The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has issued a nationwide health alert as heavy rains and looming floods threaten to fuel outbreaks of cholera, yellow fever, and dengue fever across the country.
The agency’s warning comes on the heels of forecasts by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), which flagged Sokoto, Kaduna, Zamfara, Yobe, and several other states as being at high risk of flash floods this July. The NCDC said the predicted rainfall patterns could have serious public health consequences.
“Floodwaters often contaminate our water sources by washing pathogens or germs from soil, animal waste, or overwhelmed sewage systems into rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water,” said Jide Idris, the NCDC’s director-general, in a statement. “This contamination affects drinking water sources and creates ideal conditions for the spread of cholera.”
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According to the NCDC, suspected cholera infections have been recorded in 34 states between June 23 and 29, with Zamfara alone accounting for a staggering 32 percent of all reported cases. Other severely affected states include Bayelsa, Adamawa, Delta, Lagos, and Rivers.
But cholera is not the only concern.
The agency confirmed an outbreak of dengue fever in Edo State between June 9 and 13, with laboratory tests verifying a rise in cases. It also reported seven confirmed cases of yellow fever across six states: Abia, Anambra, Edo, Ekiti, Lagos, and Rivers. Though no deaths have been recorded so far, the NCDC warned that a single confirmed yellow fever case is considered an outbreak under national and global health protocols.
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Both yellow fever and dengue fever are mosquito-borne illnesses, and the NCDC noted that the stagnant water left behind by floods creates breeding grounds for the Aedes mosquitoes responsible for spreading the diseases.
To mitigate the risks, the NCDC says it is working closely with state governments, health partners, and local communities to bolster disease surveillance, provide emergency treatment supplies, deploy rapid response teams, and launch public awareness campaigns.
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The agency is urging Nigerians to remain vigilant and take preventive measures. These include regular handwashing, maintaining proper sanitation, washing fruits and vegetables with clean water, covering water storage containers, clearing stagnant water around homes, using insecticide-treated nets and repellents, and ensuring that all routine vaccinations — particularly for yellow fever — are up to date.
“We urge all state governments to remain alert and intensify surveillance efforts to ensure timely detection and response to any of these diseases,” Idris added.
As rainfall continues across the country, health authorities say swift, coordinated action is essential to prevent a full-scale public health emergency.
