Abuja, Aug 6 (IANS): At least 11 people have been killed by an outbreak of cholera in Nigeria's northwestern state of Kano in the last seven days, according to media reports on Monday.
Forty-seven others have been hospitalized following the outbreak which has affected three villages in Bebeji area, Xinhua news agency reported.
All the dead have been buried. None of the villages has a clinic or hospital. The hospitalized victims are being treated in another area of the state.
Cholera is an extremely virulent disease characterized in its most severe form by sudden onset of acute watery diarrhoea that can lead to death by severe dehydration.
The outbreak is common in Nigeria due to poor water supply systems, especially in densely populated areas.