The Cross River government has rejected the inclusion of the state among the ten states affected by the cholera outbreak by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

Henry Ayuk, commissioner for health, faulted the state’s listing in an interview with journalists in Calabar on Wednesday.

He said there had been no reported case of the epidemic in the state since the last incident on January 29.

The commissioner alleged that the NCDC relied on old data to include the state among the affected states.

“I don’t know where they got their information from, but I can tell you that there has been no case of cholera here since the last one we had in January when one life was lost.

“I repeat again, there is no confirmation of any case of cholera in Cross River,” he said.

The commissioner, however, assured that a response team was already in place should there be an outbreak in the state.

“As part of our preparedness, we have reactivated our public health emergency response team at the state and local government level to respond and react immediately.

“We are increasing surveillance in the state and also educating communities on the need to report any case of diarrhoea.

“We are particularly focused on the riverine areas and hot spots such as Etung, Abi, Obubura, Biase and part of Yakurr Local Government Areas,” he said.

It would be recalled that the director-general of the NCDC, Jide Idris, had on Tuesday listed ten states, including Cross River, as states affected by the cholera outbreak.

He listed the states as Lagos, Bayelsa, Zamfara, Abia, Cross River, Bauchi, Delta, Katsina, Imo, and Nasarawa.

He went further to say that a total of 2,102 suspected cholera cases and 63 deaths had been recorded across 33 states and 122 local government areas in the country.

(NAN)