Cholera – Niger

On 15 July, the outbreak of cholera was officially declared by the Ministry of Public Health of Niger. The first three cases were residents of Nigeria from Jibiya Local Government Area (LGA) in Katsina State on the border with Niger. The cases were all from the same family and reportedly had an onset of symptoms in Jibiya LGA before seeking treatment on 5 July 2018 at a health facility in a bordering town in Niger. Vibrio cholerae serotype O1 Inaba was confirmed in stool samples from all three cases, one of which died within minutes of admission. In addition to these cases, six cases were reported in the following two days from villages in Niger located approximately 4km away from Jibiya LGA. Since then, the outbreak has continuously expanded geographically and in magnitude with peaks of around 400 cases reported in two weeks in August and in early September.

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