The cholera outbreak in Nigeria has killed 2,323 people in the country since its onset in January, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) said on Tuesday.

In a statement on Tuesday, the NCDC said 46 new deaths were linked to the outbreak across the country between Aug. 30 and Sept. 5.

The public health agency said a total of 69,925 suspected cases of cholera infection have been recorded in 25 states and the federal capital territory since the onset of the outbreak.

According to the NCDC, the case fatality rate for the disease currently stands at 3.3 percent.

It added that a national multi-sectoral emergency system continues to coordinate the national response.

Cholera is a highly virulent disease characterized in its most severe form by a sudden onset of acute watery diarrhea that can lead to death by severe dehydration.

The outbreak of cholera in Nigeria has remained persistent, occurring annually mostly during the rainy season and more often in areas with poor sanitation, overcrowding, lack of clean food and water, and areas where open defecation is a common practice.