Borno records 1,068 acute water diarrhoea cases in 10 LGAs

Borno state Commissioner of Health, Dr. Haruna Mshelia has disclosed that 1,068 cases of acute watery diarrhea (AWD) have been recorded in 10 local government areas of the state.
He also commended confirmed that there was no single case of death from cholera in any LGA of the state so far, disputing earlier media reports of cholera outbreak , stressing that death from case of acute water diarrhea is different from case of death from cholera as earlier misconstrued and reported.
Addressing journalists at a press conference yesterday in Maiduguri on sensitization of public hygiene and sanitation to prevent water borne diseases, Dr.
Mshelia pointed out that, technically, there were specific causes of death from acute water diarrhea or cholera which could be from illnesses such as HIV/ AIDS, malaria fever, typhoid, food poison, vomiting and passing of watery stool.
He said cholera comes from contamination as a result of lack of clean water sources and good hygienic environment, not washing hands after going to toilet before eating, drinking unclean and unhygienic water from the streams and drinking of water from rivers or ponds without first boiling and filtering, among other unhealthy sources.
He attributed diarrhea and other water borne diseases to open defecation and poor sanitary conditions in the state’s Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps and communities.
“To prevent outbreaks of diarrhea and other water borne diseases, like cholera, there must be public awareness on personal hygiene and sanitation.
They are critical in preventing such diseases that claimed 61 lives last August in the state,” he said.
On whether there were losses of lives, he said: “No one has died yet from AWD.
Out of the 100 cases of diarrhea reported early this year, we had one or two cases of cholera at Baga Doro, Borno state,” he said.