No fewer than three persons lost their lives, following an outbreak of diarrhoea in two Local Government Areas of Niger.
The Director of Public Health in the state’s Ministry of Health, Dr Usman Mohammed, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Minna on Friday.
Mohammed said that the ministry was notified of the outbreak of the disease in Tafa Local Government Area, adding that the State Government had sent a medical team to the area for medical assistance.
“We have received information on the outbreak of stooling and vomiting in Tafa town, we dispatch a team of medical personnel to examine the situation.
“The report shows 36 persons have contacted the disease, one person died and 35 others are responding to treatment at a government health facility in the area.
“The ministry received another complaint on similar outbreak in Gawu Babangida.
“The disease had claimed two lives, while 26 others were receiving treatment at public health facilities in the area.
“I can assure that the situation is under control, following the intervention of the medical team; no new case of the disease is reported from the area,” he said.
He attributed the outbreak to the source of drinking water, adding that the affected persons were believed to have been fetching water from ponds, following the breakdown of their boreholes.
Mohammed said the government had concluded arrangements to prevent outbreak of the disease in other parts of the state.