The cholera outbreak in Nigeria has claimed 781 lives from  3,000 reported cases, the Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, has said.

The minister made the statement in Abuja, on Tuesday, at a media briefing to intimate Nigerians on current trends and intervention strategies mapped out for the epidemic.

Chukwu also said that of the 11 affected states, Katsina State reported the highest number of casualties, with 175 deaths from 310 reported cases.

``Bauchi, Borno, Adamawa, Gombe, Yobe, Taraba, Jigawa, Kaduna are the most affected states after Katsina State,’’ Chukwu said.

The minister said the intervention strategies would include measures to ensure that after this episode, the country would not record any outbreak of cholera that would record such casualties.

He stressed the need for proper disposal of faeces and the need to provide safe water for the people.

Chukwu said that the short-term measures included the procurement of vaccines in the endemic areas, as well as more intravenous fluids for hospitals where cholera patients were being treated.