Nigeria’s Borno state hit by cholera amid flood devastation

By Ahmed Kingimi

ABUJA (Reuters) – A cholera outbreak has hit Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state, already reeling from floods that displaced nearly 2 million people, an official said on Friday.

Cholera outbreaks are not uncommon in Borno, the epicentre of a 15-year-old Islamist insurgency that has displaced thousands into camps and strained sanitation facilities and potable water sources.

Borno Health Commissioner Baba Mallam Gana told reporters that 17 cases have been recorded following tests, but no deaths so far.

“However, we are recording an increasing number of Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD)/suspected Cholera which is not unconnected with the flood devastation,” Gana said.

Almost 500 cases of AWD have been recorded, Gana said, with five local government areas mostly affected.

Flooding in Borno began when a dam overflowed following heavy rains, displacing millions from their homes and damaging health facilities and other infrastructures.

Gana said that to combat the latest outbreak, the state got 300,000 oral cholera vaccine (OCV) doses from the federal health ministry, which have been distributed across displacement camps and flood-hit communities.

The state is waiting for an additional 600,000 doses of the vaccine to ensure adequate coverage, he said.

(Reporting by Ahmed Kingimi; Writing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Editing by Angus MacSwan)