WHO Team Deployed in Nigeria to Contain Cholera Outbreak

The World Health Organization (WHO) deployed an additional team in Nigeria to contain a cholera outbreak in the town of Mubi, as reported here today.

According to the spokesman of the UN Secretary General, Stephane Dujarric, this technical staff is coordinating the response to the current outbreak and supports the surveillance and contact tracing of suspected cases. All this to ensure health interventions and that the outbreak does not spread to other places, said the spokesman.

Currently, some 39 WHO members are in the field and that number is expected to increase in the coming days.

As of May 26, 434 suspected cases had been reported, including 13 deaths.

According to the WHO, the transmission rate of the current cholera outbreak in Adamawa state is worrisome.

That organization is now carrying out a plan based on past experiences in controlling the main cholera outbreaks in camps of internally displaced persons and host communities.

While these efforts are already yielding results, as indicated by a decrease in case fatality ratio, further efforts are urgently needed to prevent cholera from spreading to other regions.