Cholera outbreak hits Nigerian state weeks after devastating flood

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria

Northeastern Nigeria has been hit by a cholera outbreak weeks after a devastating flood struck the area, damaging sanitary facilities and the public water system, a medical official said Saturday.

Elyakub Yakubu Mohammed, head of the Nigerian Medical Association in Borno state, said 451 suspected cases of cholera were reported among thousands of people displaced by flood in the area, with 128 samples already tested positive through rapid diagnostic tests.

Twenty tested negative, he added in a statement.

He called on authorities in the area to strengthen water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities, step up vaccination campaigns and public education for locals.

On Friday, Baba Mala Gana, Borno’s commissioner for health and human service, announced in the state capital Maiduguri that the outbreak has spread to four provinces after massive flooding last month.