Nigeria cholera outbreak kills dozens in northeast

A cholera outbreak in northeast Nigeria has killed dozens and is being made harder to control by insecurity and weak health services, medical sources and residents said Friday.

Residents said cases have surged over the past two weeks in communities around Lake Chad, including Doro, Bunduram, Baga, Kross Kauwa and the garrison town of Monguno.

A medical source at a clinic in Monguno said the clinic receives about 50 patients a day and that 40 percent die. The source said deaths had previously averaged between two and five a day, but the situation had worsened as patients arrived from remote farming communities.

The exact death toll is unclear. A spokesman for the Borno state governor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Anti-jihadist militia member Labo Sani said the outbreak had prompted two isolation centres to be set up in Doro and Bunduram, but that medical supplies were “grossly inadequate”. He said a nighttime curfew imposed to prevent jihadist attacks also delays access to care.

Doctors Without Borders said 14 districts in Borno state recorded a suspected cholera outbreak between May and June, infecting about 8,000 people and killing 74. A United Nations source said that earlier wave had been brought under control.

Cholera spreads through bacteria-tainted water and food and can cause dehydration and diarrhoea.