By Adam Abu Bashal

ABUJA, Nigeria

A cholera outbreak has claimed the lives of 61 people in the last two months in Nigeria, according to a local official.

Muhammad Kawuwa, northeastern Yobe state’s commissioner of health, said Friday the 61 people died of the outbreak in six local governments in the state.

Kawuwa also said a total of 906 cholera cases were reported in the two-month period, while 50 people are currently undergoing medical treatment.

Cholera is an acute diarrheal illness caused by infection of the intestine with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae which people get from drinking water or eating food contaminated with the bacterium.

Its symptoms include diarrhea and vomiting and the disease takes effect 6 to 48 hours after the bacterium enters the body.

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