At least 17 people have died following an outbreak of cholera in the central Nigerian state of Benue, health officials said Tuesday.

Residents said the death toll was much higher, adding that an average of six people had died each day of the infection in some parts of the farming state in the past 10 days.

Health commissioner Michael Iduma said at least 10 people died in the state capital Makurdi in the last two weeks after they were hospitalised for Vomiting and diarrhoea.

Seven others had died earlier in two separate districts.

Cases of the deadly disease in Africa’s most populous nation where the majority live on less than a dollar a day, have been on the rise since late last year when the U.N. World Health Organization (WHO) said 126 people had died of the infection.

“The hospitals I visited yesterday have a record of 10 deaths, but some people may have died at home without their deaths being recorded,” Iduma said.

Residents say more than 50 people, including children, have died in the past week of cholera in Makurdi, located on the banks of River Benue, the source drinking water for many.

“An average of six people died of what we believe is cholera every day in my part of the town in the last 10 days. They could not afford to go to hospital for treatment,” said one resident who asked not to be named.

Cholera causes vomiting and painless diarrhoea that lead to severe dehydration and death within 24 hours if treatment is not given promptly.

In March, at least 51 people died in the southwestern state of Edo following an outbreak of cholera, an intestinal infection spread by contaminated food and water.

The disease can largely be prevented by washing hands before handling food and avoiding contaminated drinking water. Many of those who die could be saved by a simple mixture of water and rehydration salts.