By Tada Juthan Maiduguri
The Borno State Commissioner of Health and Human Services, Prof. Baba Mallam Gana, has confirmed 128 positive cases of cholera with the vaccination of 287,708 persons.
He claims that the Jere, Konduga, Mafa, Monguno, and Maiduguri Metropolitan Councils (MMCs) recorded the 421 suspected cases.
Declaring the outbreak of cholera yesterday (Friday), in Maiduguri, Gana disclosed that “I wish to categorically inform the good people of the state and the media that we’re having a cholera outbreak in the state.
“The water-borne disease is highly contagious,” stating that cholera can be transmitted via faecal-oral route with an incubation period of two-five days.
The commissioner attributed cholera to poor sanitation and personal hygiene, open defecation, and poor storage of food items and vegetables in households.
He added that the lack of cholera vaccination campaigns could further spread the disease into various communities.
Gana noted that in line with current development in the health sector, and on behalf of the people, he declared cholera outbreaks with a zero-mortality rate.
While responding to the outbreak, he said the state government has received 300,000 doses of oral vaccines from the Federal Ministry of Health.
The commissioner, therefore, appealed to the line ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) and partners to provide an optimal response to the cholera outbreak in the state, including the border areas with Niger, Cameroon, and Chad.
While the media, he added, could partner with the government to inform, sensitise, and create awareness by educating the public on the dangers of cholera and how to prevent it.
“Cholera is associated with a rapid onset and profuse diarrhoea with vomiting,” he said, warning that dehydration, shock, and death are imminent if, if necessary, action were not taken.
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