Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has raised alarm over the growing number of cholera cases in Zamfara State, reporting more than 1,500 infections from mid-June to early August.
In a statement issued in Birnin Kebbi on Thursday, MSF’s Medical Coordinator in Nigeria, Dr David Kizito, said the cases were recorded from three state Ministry of Health (MOH) facilities supported by the organisation, with high incidence rates also reported in other parts of the state.
“This outbreak is unfolding in a context of insecurity, displacement, and limited access to clean water and sanitation – exacerbated by the rainy season,” Kizito said, noting that cholera outbreaks in Nigeria typically intensify between April and October due to flooding that contaminates water sources.
He warned that cholera can cause severe diarrhoea and vomiting, leading to rapid dehydration and death within hours if untreated.
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In response, MSF has expanded its water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions, alongside other humanitarian actors and the MOH, which activated a Public Health Emergency Operations Centre on 3 July.
Hotspot areas such as Shinkafi, Zurmi and Talata Mafara—where safe water access is critically low—have been prioritised.
MSF has also supported the opening of cholera treatment centres and units in Zurmi, Shinkafi and Talata Mafara General Hospitals.
Between 16 June and 5 August, the Zurmi CTC recorded 562 suspected cases, mostly from Yambuki, Kadamusa and Zurmi town. Shinkafi General Hospital treated about 401 cases between 11 July and 5 August, while over 600 cases were recorded in Talata Mafara between 1 July and 8 August.
Some cases were traced to Isa LGA in Sokoto State and as far as Anka and Bakura LGAs.
Kizito expressed concern over a potential rise in infections and called for urgent measures, including decentralised oral rehydration points, enabling primary healthcare centres to treat mild and moderate cases, and an immediate cholera vaccination campaign.
“No one should die from a preventable disease,” he stressed, urging full community participation to curb the spread.
NAN