A cholera outbreak in Borno State has claimed 39 lives within the last 24 hours, with 272 new cases recorded across 36 wards in eight local government areas of the state.
The Incident Manager of the Public Emergency Operations Centre, Jacob Audu, disclosed this in Maiduguri, the state capital, while urging residents to take precautionary measures to prevent further spread of the disease.
Audu said 138 communities across the affected local government areas are currently battling the outbreak, adding that the government has introduced robust measures to contain the situation.
Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, the Permanent Secretary of the Borno Ministry of Health and Human Services, Shettima Maina, said the state government had reactivated two emergency response centres to provide treatment for infected persons across the affected local government areas.
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Maina described the illness as acute watery diarrhoea but did not explicitly confirm whether it was cholera.
He, however, assured residents that the government had taken steps to prevent its spread to other communities and noted that the number of cases had begun to decline in recent days.
“Governor Babagana Zulum has released funds, drugs and other medical consumables to the affected health centres, and patients will be treated free of charge,” he said.
He added that the ministry and its agencies had intensified public health awareness campaigns in the affected communities.
“The Ministry of Health and its agencies have embarked on health promotion and awareness campaigns in all the affected communities to ensure the disease does not spread further.
“We are currently conducting sensitisation campaigns and stakeholder meetings on acute watery diarrhoea and its management for local government chairmen and other stakeholders across the state,” Maina said.
Health officials said women between the ages of 21 and 50 are the most affected demographic, while Old Maiduguri Ward in the state capital has recorded the highest number of cases.
The state government has continued to urge residents to maintain proper hygiene and promptly report suspected cases to the nearest health facility.
