Diarrhea outbreak claims 10 lives in Adamawa, hundreds hospitalized

In a tragic development, at least 10 people, mostly women, children, and the elderly, have been confirmed dead following an acute diarrhea outbreak in Yola North and Yola South Local Government Areas of Adamawa State.

The State Commissioner for Health, Mr. Felix Tangwami, confirmed the alarming situation while updating the public on the crisis. He noted that the actual casualty count could rise, as many hospitalized victims remain in critical condition.

According to Tangwami, over 300 individuals have been admitted to the Yola Specialist Hospital since the outbreak began on Monday. Although some patients have been treated and discharged, fresh cases continue to emerge, overwhelming health facilities in the affected areas.

Health officials are working tirelessly to control the situation and provide adequate care for those affected.

“Those on danger with serious cases have been isolated for medical attention at the Infectious Disease Center of the Specialist Hospital.

“The situation though rough, but it is still within the scope of the government as everything humanly possible is being done to contain the outbreak,” Tangwami assured.

He said: ”The Government is not hiding anything rather following due process in handling sensitive life threatening health concerns with the hope to know the outcome of the result of the samples in the next 24 hours from the National Centre for Disease Control, NCDC.

“For now, nobody can confirm that what we are facing is cholera outbreak until all necessary analysis is conducted thoroughly and results are out.

“We don’t have the PCR equipment for testing the collected samples here in Yola. So, we have to send it to Abuja for confirmation which would be ready in the next 48 hours,” the commissioner maintained.
He advised the public to desist from jumping to conclusions without experts advice, especially in health related issues.