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Cholera outbreak kills 74 and infects thousands in Nigeria
The medical system has been under pressure due to the strain on healthcare facilities.
Written by Ziad Abdel Fattah:
Doctors Without Borders said on Tuesday that a cholera outbreak that began in early May in Borno State in northeastern Nigeria has killed at least 74 people and infected more than 7,800, overwhelming health facilities.
Doctors Without Borders said that 7,850 suspected cases had been recorded in 14 local government districts as of June 7, citing the state's health ministry, with infections rising sharply every day.
The healthcare system is under pressure due to the cholera outbreak.
The cholera outbreak is straining an already fragile health care system in a region at the heart of a 17-year-long Islamist insurgency, compounded by mass displacement and poor water and sanitation, increasing the risk of wider disease spread if containment efforts fail.
Doctors Without Borders, in collaboration with the state Ministry of Health, has established a cholera treatment center in the capital, Maiduguri, to support response efforts.
Bienfeet Tombola, the medical coordinator for Doctors Without Borders' emergency response project in Maiduguri, said that every day, they see more people arriving with acute watery diarrhea and dehydration, many of whom have traveled long distances to get care.
In a related context, Doctors Without Borders said it treated 7,439 patients, at a rate of 230 admissions per day, with more than 500 cases recorded on June 5 alone, the highest number of cases admitted in a single day since the start of the response.
Cholera, a waterborne disease, is prevalent in areas lacking clean water and sanitation.
Doctors Without Borders said authorities are planning a vaccination campaign, while the organization continues to intensify its efforts in treatment, hygiene and monitoring to contain the outbreak.
