Niger has observed more than 1,300 cholera cases since the start of the year, with 51 individuals died of the disease,said Monday by the United Nations.
In September alone there were 38 reported deaths from cholera, said the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the capital Niamey on its website.
The spike in the number of cholera deaths was due in part of heavy flooding which has inundated Niger since June.
Steps are being taken “to contain the illness” and “prevent it from appearing in new places,” said OCHA, noting that cholera has broken out in four of Niger’s eight regions.
Of special concern is the southeast region of Diffa where since 2013 some 105,000 people have taken refuge fleeing from the deadly attacks in Nigeria by the Islamist group Boko Haram and the crackdown by the Nigerian army.
Many refugees have settled on the islands of Lake Chad “where access to drinking water is limited and the conditions of hygiene and sanitation are precarious,” the UN office said.
Cholera is transmitted by ingesting food or drink contaminated with human waste. It causes diarrhea, dehydration and death if let untreated.
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