Three people have been confirmed dead from cholera-related complications, according to the Borno state government.
The water-borne disease is currently sweeping through the state which has been devastated significantly by actions of the terrorist group Boko Haram.
Speaking to newsmen on Thursday, the state’s commissioner of health, Dr Haruna Mshelia, who confirmed the deaths, said there have been 693 recorded cases of people who have contracted the disease.
He said the first set of cases case were recorded six weeks ago in Baga, Doro Baga, Bundiram and Kukawa villages.
According to him, of the 77 samples collected, 69 came back positive for cholera.
This prompted the immediate creation of two treatment centres in Baga and Kukawa by the state government. In addition to this, waters accessed by people in affected locales have been chlorinated and awareness campaigns are being carried out.
He blamed the outbreak on the insurgency as most of those who have contracted the disease live in territories just retrieved from the terrorists.
Those places have not been fitted with proper body waste disposal systems yet, especially the camps created for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
Mshelia said: “In those areas around the shores, the challenge they have is with open defecation because it’s very difficult to build toilets there.
“Unless you have the means to use blocks, the soil is very loose and if you did a hole and just cover it, it collapses. So out of frustration, they practice open defecation which is a recipe for cholera outbreak.”
