The Cross River State Government has confirmed the narrative by residents of Ekureku that 20 people have died of cholera in the community.
The Director General of Cross River Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Janet Ekpeyong, also revealed that 30 people in the community have been hospitalised.
Mrs Ekpeyong noted that the Cross River government has now deployed human and material resources to bring the cholera outbreak under control.
She expressed sadness over the deaths, revealing that proactive measures have been taken to prevent the further spread of the disease noting that the deaths could have been avoided if protocols were followed in the affected villages.
According to her, the state government has deployed a response team together with representatives from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Nigerian Red Cross and the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programme.
She sympathised with families affected by the unfortunate incident adding that “the combined team have all intervened accordingly and helped to save lives and prevent further spread of the disease.