MSF scales up activities as cholera outbreak spreads in Borno

As new cases of cholera emerge from Monguno, Dikwa and other parts of Maiduguri, the international medical organisation, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has scaled up its response activities in the state.

Since the start of the outbreak, a total of 2627 cholera cases with 48 deaths have been reported by the Borno State Ministry of Health.

The state capital, Maiduguri, alone has witnessed 1425 cases, while 600 cases in Dikwa and 602 cases in Monguno have so far been reported.

“Early diagnosis and treatment is vital to tackling cholera outbreaks,” Anna Cillers, MSF medical coordinator, told newsmen in Maiduguri, adding, “as cases increased in Maiduguri, we rapidly added more beds to our cholera treatment centre in Dala, where we now have 100 beds.”

Since 16 August, 491 patients were admitted and 475 discharged in Dala.

MSF has now constructed near Muna garage camp located at the outskirts of Maiduguri, another cholera treatment centre with a 50bed capacity which can be increased to 100 in the coming days if required.

Muna Garage camp hosts about 20,000 people who have been displaced by the conflict between the Nigerian armed forces and Boko Haram.

The outbreak has, however, now begun to spread throughout other camps in the surrounding area and inside the city. Inside Muna Garage camp, MSF operates an oral rehydration point where patients can obtain sugar and salt solution to help them to overcome severe dehydration.

As authorities and humanitarian actors tackle the outbreak in Maiduguri, numbers of cholera cases have been increasing in Monguno and Dikwa, towns to the east of the capital.

Monguno is home to about 200,000 people, two-thirds of whom are people who have fled other parts of the state and now live in official and unofficial camps. Dikwa, a military controlled enclave is home to approximately 120,000 people, out of which 100,000 are internally displaced people.

“In Monguno, we adapted our existing medical facility to isolate patients with suspected cholera, and are currently operating a 110-bed cholera treatment centre,” Dr. Félix Kouassi, MSF medical coordinator, said, adding, “We are worried that the number of beds currently planned may not be enough as cases continue to rise in the town.”