The Borno state Commissioner for Health, Dr Haruna Mshelia has said that at least, three persons have died in fresh cholera outbreak in Kukawa local government of of the state.

He disclosed this when the Director General of World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Tedros Ghebrayesus visited the WHO’s Emergency and Response Centre on Friday in Maiduguri.

Mshela said that about 700 cases of cholera were recorded in Baga, Doron Baga and Kukawa in the past weeks, adding that the state government in collaboration with WHO and other partners had scaled up activities to combat the outbreak in the affected communities.

Noting that the state government had conducted vaccination to control the disease in the past six months, he explained that with the support from WHO and other organizations, various programmes had been executed to control, hepatitis E, malaria, polio, measles, meningitis and other diseases.

Mshelia called for closer collaboration with WHO to enhance healthcare delivery in the state.

Ghebrayesus assured of WHO’s commitment to contain the spread of cholera, polio and other diseases in the state.

“The current cholera outbreak was recorded in areas where vaccination was not conducted. The outbreak would be analysed to avert future ocurrence,” he said while commending the state government for demonstrating the political will to control the outbreak and transform healthcare service delivery in the state.

61 persons have died of cholera between June and December, 2017.