Yobe declares 9 dead in cholera outbreak

The Yobe State Government has confirmed the outbreak of cholera in five local government areas and the death of nine patients.

Commissioner of Health and Human Services Dr. Muhammad Lawan Gana confirmed in a statement made available to newsmen on Thursday.

He listed the five affected local governments as Gubja, Fune, Machina, Nangere and Nguru.

“A total of 132 cholera cases were recorded as of September 25, 2024; unfortunately, we lost nine patients, which is a case fatality rate of 6.8%, mainly due to delays in reporting to the health facilities for lifesaving treatment.

“There were 11 cases on admission across the five LGAs and a total of 112 have been treated and discharged as at the time of compiling this report.

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“In light of this and due to our continuous concern for the health of our people and the need to scale up our response with the support of our international, national and local partners, the State Government is therefore declaring an outbreak of cholera in Yobe State,” Dr Gana said.

He noted that the declaration of a cholera outbreak in the state is now a clarion call on all health sector partners, religious and traditional leaders, as well as citizens, to join hands with the Yobe State Ministry of Health, Ministry of Water Resource, Ministry of Environment, Yobe State Environmental Protection Agency and Yobe State Rural Water and Sanitation Agency to curb the menace within the shortest possible time.

“At this point, I urge all our international, national and local partners to bring their full expertise to support the cholera response effort in the state,” he urged.