Cholera kills 175 in Nigeria’s northeastern states

By Olarewaju Kola

MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA

At least 175 people have been reported dead from Cholera outbreak in Nigeria’s northeastern region, a humanitarian agency said on Monday.

"More than 10,000 people have been afflicted by the ongoing cholera outbreak in Nigeria, according to the government. Of these, 175 were reported dead in the states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe," the Norwegian Refugee Council said in a statement.

Janet Cherono, an official of the NRC in Maiduguri, attributed poor sanitation, open defecation due to inadequate toilet facilities and water as causes of Cholera outbreak at the refugee camps.

He called on Nigerian government to act immediately to avert a risk of more outbreaks and high mortality in 2019.

Earlier, World Health Organisation (WHO) said 759 cases of Cholera were detected in two months with 71 deaths in Yobe state.

Cholera is an acute diarrhea illness that causes infection of the intestine with bacterium Vibrio cholera which people get from drinking or eating contaminated water or food.

Some parts of Nigeria are frequently affected by the epidemic due to limited access to clean drinking water.

The region is also hit by Boko Haram insurgency, which makes displaced persons’ camps a center for the disease.