The Borno State Ministry of Health has officially declared a cholera outbreak following the confirmation of 17 positive cases from 200 tested samples.
The outbreak, attributed to recent flooding in parts of the state, was announced by the Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Prof. Baba Gana, at the Eye Centre in Maiduguri.
Prof. Gana identified Jere, Mafa, Konduga, Dikwa, and Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (MMC) as the local government areas affected by the outbreak.
While no deaths have been recorded, the commissioner warned of increasing cases, especially as neighboring states Adamawa and Yobe have also been impacted.
A total of 451 suspected cases have been reported across the LGAs, but only 17 have been confirmed positive.
In response, the state government has launched immediate efforts to control the spread, with support from partners like the World Health Organization (WHO) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), who have set up facilities to handle suspected cases.
Additionally, the commissioner announced that 400,000 cholera vaccines are available as part of efforts to combat the outbreak.