A severe cholera outbreak has hit Borno State, with at least 2,715 suspected cases line-listed and 27 deaths recorded across five Local Government Areas (LGAs) within the first 24 days of May.
This is according to an official epidemiological summary obtained by PREMIUM TIMES on Monday.
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The data reveal a rapidly escalating public health situation, with hundreds of new suspected cases reported in a single 24-hour period.
Health officials have warned that the current case count of 2,715 remains conservative, noting that data from several Cholera Treatment Centres (CTCs) and Oral Rehydration Points (ORPs) are yet to be fully integrated into the official database.
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Coupled with fears that infections could spike during the upcoming festive season, the worsening situation has heightened concerns over the state Ministry of Health’s failure to issue a public alert.
Spread across communities, mortality rates
The data shows that the current outbreak has penetrated at least 29 wards and 124 different communities across the state. The Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (MMC) is the epicentre of the crisis, accounting for more than half of the total burden with 1,568 suspected cases.
Other affected LGAs include Jere (834 suspected cases), Mafa (159 cases), Konduga (95 cases), and Monguno (56 cases), while Ngala and Magumeri recorded 2 and 1 suspected cases, respectively.
Of the 27 fatalities documented so far, 11 occurred within local communities, highlighting potential gaps in early healthcare access and emergency response. The remaining 16 deaths were recorded inside designated health facilities.
The Case Fatality Rate (CFR) currently stands at one per cent, which aligns with the World Health Organisation (WHO) emergency threshold for outbreaks requiring urgent intervention.
Laboratory diagnostic efforts have identified 35 Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT)- positive cases, with 1 new case identified so far. Meanwhile, 14 cases have been strictly confirmed through National Reference Laboratory (NRL) testing, while no new laboratory-confirmed cases were reported in the latest 24-hour window.
State health authorities and international humanitarian partners are reportedly mobilising resources to contain the spread, optimise water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions, and ensure treatment centres are fully equipped to handle the influx of patients.
Health workers, particularly within the non-governmental sector, are increasingly concerned by the state government’s delay in declaring a public health emergency and launching a public awareness campaign to contain the outbreak.
“What the government is supposed to do at this critical moment is call a press conference and declare a cholera outbreak so that residents… can take measures to safeguard themselves,” said a health worker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media. “But this is not being done.”
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Several attempts to contact the Borno State Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Baba Malam Gana, failed, as calls and messages sent to his phone were not returned or acknowledged.
About cholera
Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal disease caused by consuming food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The disease spreads rapidly in areas with poor sanitation, inadequate access to clean drinking water and overcrowded living conditions.
According to WHO, symptoms can range from mild diarrhoea to severe dehydration, vomiting and shock. Without prompt treatment, severe cases can lead to death within hours, although the disease is preventable and treatable through oral rehydration therapy, intravenous fluids and antibiotics in severe cases.
Nigeria experiences recurring cholera outbreaks, particularly during the rainy season when flooding and contamination of water sources increase the risk of transmission. Humanitarian crises and displacement caused by conflict have also made northeastern states such as Borno especially vulnerable to outbreaks.
