10 Borno Communities Infected With Diarrhoea Disease – Official

Diarrhoea Hits Borno State Again

The Borno State Commissioner for Health, Haruna Mshelia, has announced that a ‘deadly diarrhoea’ has hit at least ten local government areas of the state, Naija news understands.

At least 1,068 persons have so far contracted Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD), a bowel related ailment that is fast becoming an epidemic in the war ravaged state.

Of the quoted number suffering from the ailment, the commissioner said 25 persons with critical cases are currently under admission in three different hospitals across the state.

Those on admission are in Benishek, Dala and Elmiskin cholera treatment centres, he said.

Mr Mshelia disclosed this while informing journalists on the sensitisation efforts of the government.

The commissioner blamed the outbreak and other related water borne diseases on “open defecation and poor sanitary conditions especially at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps and communities. “To prevent outbreaks of diarrhoea and other water borne diseases, like cholera, there must be public awareness on personal hygiene and sanitation,” he said.

“They are critical in preventing such diseases that claimed 61 lives last August in the state,” he said. The medical doctor however said “no one has died yet from AWD. “Out of the 100 cases of diarrhoea reported early this year, we had one or two cases of cholera at Baga Doro, Borno State.”

Mr Mshelia explained that the protocols of reporting outbreaks of cholera include “taking samples to the laboratory for instant test from where the response team has to confirm that it is cholera, before reporting it to Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).”