A cholera outbreak in Nigeria's northeast has killed nearly 100 people over the past two weeks and infected thousands more, the United Nations said.

The number of recorded cases in Yobe and Borno states currently stands at 3,126, including 97 deaths, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Saturday.

The outbreak was declared two weeks ago in restive Borno state, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people live in camps after fleeing the armed group Boko Haram.

On Wednesday, the UN reported more than 500 people have died from cholera in the Lake Chad region since the start of the year, representing the worst outbreak to hit the area in four years.

Expected floods and heavy rains were "an ideal environment for the outbreak to spread", OCHA warned.

It said Nigeria was the worst-hit with 24,000 cases overall, adding immediate action was needed to stop the spread of the disease.

Waterborne diseases are a constant threat in the Lake Chad region because of a lack of adequate sanitation, as well as stagnant groundwater during the rainy season. </s> (Bloomberg) -- A cholera outbreak in the northeast of Nigeria has caused 61 deaths in Yobe state, as the number of new confirmed cases surged to 989, the government and the United Nations said.

Fresh cases of the waterborne disease were recorded in six local government areas within two months, the state health commissioner, Muhammad Kawuwa, said in an emailed statement Friday. The affected local governments are Gujba, Gulani, Damaturu, Fune, Potiskum and Nangere, he said.

“Over 795 patients were successfully treated and discharged, while 50 are still in various health facilities across the state,” Kawuwa said.

An outbreak of the disease was declared in neighboring Borno state two weeks ago, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Nigeria said in an emailed statement Saturday. The cumulative number of recorded cases in both states currently stands at 3,126 including 97 deaths, the UN said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Tope Alake in Lagos at talake@bloomberg.net;Michael Olukayode in Maiduguri at molugbode1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sophie Mongalvy at smongalvy@bloomberg.net, Jacqueline Mackenzie, Natasha Doff </s> More than 3,000 cholera cases have been recorded in the states of Yobe and Borno, says the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

LAGOS, Nigeria – A cholera outbreak in north-eastern Nigeria has claimed nearly 100 lives over the past two weeks, the United Nations said on Saturday, September 22.

More than 3,000 cholera cases have been recorded in the states of Yobe and Borno in a region that is also grappling with a Boko Haram insurgency, it said.

"The cumulative number of recorded cases in both states currently stands at 3,126 including 97 deaths," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

The outbreak was declared two weeks ago in restive Borno, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people live in camps.

Boko Haram has intensified attacks, especially against military targets in recent months.

On Wednesday, the UN reported that more than 500 people had died from cholera in the Lake Chad region since the start of the year, representing the worst outbreak to hit the area in 4 years.

It said more than 6 million people could be affected by the outbreak without urgent action to control it.

Expected floods and heavy rains were "an ideal environment for the outbreak to spread", OCHA warned.

The Lake Chad region straddles parts of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, which are also having to deal with a jihadist insurgency.

OCHA said Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, was the worst-hit with 24,000 cases overall, and said immediate action was needed to stem the disease.

Cholera is caused by a bacterium transmitted through contaminated food or drinking water. It causes acute diarrhea, with children particularly at risk.

Water-borne diseases are a constant threat in the Lake Chad region because of a lack of adequate sanitation as well as stagnant groundwater during the rainy season. – Rappler.com </s> A cholera outbreak has been declared in Yobe State, north-east Nigeria, by the State Ministry of Health, two weeks after a cholera outbreak was declared in neighboring Borno State.

The cumulative number of recorded cases in both states currently stands at 3,126 including 97 deaths.

In Yobe State a total of 989 cases of suspected cholera have been recorded in five local government areas (LGAs), including 61 deaths, as of 20 September 2018. This represents a case fatality rate of 6.2 per cent.

In Borno State a total of 2,137 cases of suspected cholera have been recorded in eight LGAs, including 36 deaths, as of 20 September 2018. This represents a fatality rate of 1.6 per cent.

The Response & the Needs
• A key challenge in Yobe State is poor accessibility to some of the affected LGAs and lack of communication networks, for example in Gulani and Gubja LGAs.
• Health partners and community mobilisers have visited thousands of households in both states in recent days as part of the active case search, to encourage individuals with cholera-like symptoms to be screened.
• In Borno State a 100-bed Cholera Treatment Centre (CTC) is operational in Dala (a locality in Maiduguri Metropolitan Council), and in Magumeri LGA a Cholera Treatment Unit (CTU) is operating from an existing health facility. Another CTC, with a 20-bed capacity, in Dalaram locality (in MMC) has been set up. In Yobe State however the situation is dire, and more facilities are required to deal with the outbreak. There is currently a CTU in Damataru, the capital of the state, and a new CTU has been established in the General Hospital in Damagum, Fune LGA.
• Hygiene promotion activities, including mosque announcements and radio broadcasts in Marghi, Hausa, Kanuri and Shuwa, are underway in the affected LGAs to sensitize people to the risk of cholera, teach them how to prevent and manage diarrhea at home, and educate them on the use of chloride tablets for household water treatment and safe water storage. There is also messaging on the dangers of open defecation.
• In terms of sanitation, humanitarian organisations are working to dislodge and repair latrines in the affected camps for internally displaced people where the risk of transmission is high due to congested living conditions.
• The State Ministry of Health, with the support of humanitarian partners, is coordinating the response through the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC). </s> A cholera outbreak in north-eastern Nigeria has claimed nearly 100 lives over the past two weeks, the United Nations said Saturday.

More than 3,000 cholera cases have been recorded in the states of Yobe and Borno in a region that is also grappling with a Boko Haram insurgency, it said.

"The cumulative number of recorded cases in both states currently stands at 3,126 including 97 deaths," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

The outbreak was declared two weeks ago in restive Borno, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people live in camps.

Boko Haram has intensified attacks, especially against military targets in recent months.

On Wednesday, the UN reported that more than 500 people had died from cholera in the Lake Chad region since the start of the year, representing the worst outbreak to hit the area in four years.

It said more than six million people could be affected by the outbreak without urgent action to control it.

Expected floods and heavy rains were "an ideal environment for the outbreak to spread", OCHA warned.

The Lake Chad region straddles parts of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, which are also having to deal with a jihadist insurgency.

OCHA said Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, was the worst-hit with 24,000 cases overall, and said immediate action was needed to stem the disease.

Cholera is caused by a bacterium transmitted through contaminated food or drinking water. It causes acute diarrhoea, with children particularly at risk.

Water-borne diseases are a constant threat in the Lake Chad region because of a lack of adequate sanitation as well as stagnant groundwater during the rainy season. </s> A cholera outbreak in north-eastern Nigeria has claimed nearly 100 lives over the past two weeks, the United Nations said Saturday.

More than 3,000 cholera cases have been recorded in the states of Yobe and Borno in a region that is also grappling with a Boko Haram insurgency, it said.

“The cumulative number of recorded cases in both states currently stands at 3,126 including 97 deaths,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

The outbreak was declared two weeks ago in restive Borno, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people live in camps.

Boko Haram has intensified attacks, especially against military targets in recent months.

On Wednesday, the UN reported that more than 500 people had died from cholera in the Lake Chad region since the start of the year, representing the worst outbreak to hit the area in four years.

It said more than six million people could be affected by the outbreak without urgent action to control it.

Expected floods and heavy rains were “an ideal environment for the outbreak to spread”, OCHA warned.

The Lake Chad region straddles parts of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, which are also having to deal with a jihadist insurgency.

OCHA said Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, was the worst-hit with 24,000 cases overall, and said immediate action was needed to stem the disease.

Cholera is caused by a bacterium transmitted through contaminated food or drinking water. It causes acute diarrhoea, with children particularly at risk.

Water-borne diseases are a constant threat in the Lake Chad region because of a lack of adequate sanitation as well as stagnant groundwater during the rainy season. </s> LAGOS, Nigeria – A cholera outbreak in north-eastern Nigeria has claimed nearly 100 lives over the past two weeks, the United Nations said on Saturday, September 22.

More than 3,000 cholera cases have been recorded in the states of Yobe and Borno in a region that is also grappling with a Boko Haram insurgency, it said.

"The cumulative number of recorded cases in both states currently stands at 3,126 including 97 deaths," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

The outbreak was declared two weeks ago in restive Borno, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people live in camps.

Boko Haram has intensified attacks, especially against military targets in recent months.

On Wednesday, the UN reported that more than 500 people had died from cholera in the Lake Chad region since the start of the year, representing the worst outbreak to hit the area in 4 years.

It said more than 6 million people could be affected by the outbreak without urgent action to control it.

Expected floods and heavy rains were "an ideal environment for the outbreak to spread", OCHA warned.

The Lake Chad region straddles parts of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, which are also having to deal with a jihadist insurgency.

OCHA said Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, was the worst-hit with 24,000 cases overall, and said immediate action was needed to stem the disease.

Cholera is caused by a bacterium transmitted through contaminated food or drinking water. It causes acute diarrhea, with children particularly at risk.

Water-borne diseases are a constant threat in the Lake Chad region because of a lack of adequate sanitation as well as stagnant groundwater during the rainy season. – Rappler.com </s> Yobe government on Friday confirmed 906 fresh cases of cholera with 61 deaths and 50 others still on admission in hospitals across the state.

Dr Muhammad Kawuwa, the Commissioner for Health, stated this in a statement in Damaturu on Friday.

He said Acute Water Diarrhea (AWD) cases were reported in some parts of the state and later confirmed to be cholera after laboratory tests.

“Some of the AWD cases were caused by Vibrio bacterae, the bacteria that cause cholera,“ the commissioner said.

According to him, 906 cases are recorded in six local government areas of the state: Gujba, Gulani, Damaturu, Fune, Potiskum and Nangere in two months.

“Over 795 patients were successfully treated and discharged, 50 are still on admission in various health facilities across the state.

“Unfortunately, we lost 61 patients mainly due to delays in timely reporting to the healthcare facilities for life saving treatment.”

Kawuwa said the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organisation (WHO), University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Abuja were authenticating the causes of the outbreak.

“In the light of this and due to our continued concern for the health of our people, the state government is therefore declaring outbreak of cholera in the state.”

He said this was necessary to scale up response with the support of the international partners,

The commissioner identified personal hygiene, absence of sanitation facilities in the communities and flooding of water sources by the rains as possible causes of the outbreak.

He called on Water, Sanitation and Health sector partners, religious and traditional leaders and the people to cooperate and support government efforts in containing the outbreak and check its spread.

Yobe government had, three months ago, declared an earlier cholera outbreak in five local government areas of the state.

The local government areas are: Bade, Karasuwa, Jakusko, Yusufari and Bursari. The cholera was declared over after 21 days without a report of any new case.

The commissioner said the initial outbreak recorded 16 deaths in 404 cases with Bade Local Government having 379 cases, Karasuwa 16, Jakusko, four, Yusufari three and Bursari, two.(NAN) </s> Click to print (Opens in new window)

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LAGOS: A cholera outbreak in north-eastern Nigeria has claimed nearly 100 lives over the past two weeks, the United Nations said.

More than 3,000 cholera cases have been recorded in the states of Yobe and Borno in a region that is also grappling with a Boko Haram insurgency, it said.

“The cumulative number of recorded cases in both states currently stands at 3,126 including 97 deaths,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. The outbreak was declared two weeks ago in restive Borno, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people live in camps.

Boko Haram has intensified attacks, especially against military targets in recent months.

The UN reported that more than 500 people had died from cholera in the Lake Chad region since the start of the year, representing the worst outbreak to hit the area in four years.

It said more than six million people could be affected by the outbreak without urgent action to control it. Expected floods and heavy rains were ‘an ideal environment for the outbreak to spread’, OCHA warned.

The Lake Chad region straddles parts of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, which are also having to deal with a jihadist insurgency.

OCHA said Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, was the worst-hit with 24,000 cases overall, and said immediate action was needed to stem the disease.

Cholera is caused by a bacterium transmitted through contaminated food or drinking water. It causes acute diarrhoea, with children particularly at risk.

Water-borne diseases are a constant threat in the Lake Chad region because of a lack of adequate sanitation as well as stagnant groundwater during the rainy season. — AFP
The death toll of a cholera outbreak in Yobe and Borno, Nigeria, rises to 97.