Borno cholera death toll rises to 18

National public information officer of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA), Abiodun Banire, stated in Maiduguri yesterday that the 300 additional cases were recorded in eight new councils.

According to the statement, the fatality rate stood at 2.6 per cent, after the state’s Ministry of Health had declared the outbreak on September 5, 2018.On reported cases, Banire stated: “The first suspected cases were recorded on August 19, 2018 in the following councils: Jere (218 including two deaths), Magumeri (156 including four deaths) and Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (141 including five deaths).

Others are Chibok (85 including three deaths), Konduga (38 including three deaths), Kaga (28 including one death), Damboa (eight) and Shani (six).“The response health teams requested additional resource mobilisation to match the speed of the outbreak in other places.

“Additional resources are urgently needed to strengthen the response for timely containment of the outbreak.“Health partners are using existing resources from regular emergency operations, which are not enough for a full-scale response and in case of a spread of the outbreak to other areas,” Banire explained.

The statement also listed the responses to mitigate further spread of cholera, including that “The state Ministry of Health, with the support of humanitarian partners, is coordinating the response through the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC). Coordination meetings are currently held twice a week at the EOC, and daily at council level.”

Banire said that health organisations were carrying out risk communications of regular and frequent visits to households to encourage individuals with cholera-like symptoms to be screened.

He added that communicating at the household level enabled the partners to visit 1,163 households to identify 18 suspected cases of cholera.The most effective prevention measure against cholera is basic hygiene practices, including the use of safe water and proper sanitation,” he said.