Gombe Commissioner for Health, Dr Habu Dahiru, says four persons have died, with 44 others testing positive for cholera out of the 77 gastroenteritis cases recorded in the state.
Dahiru disclosed this at a news conference on Tuesday in Gombe.
According to him, government has already placed three settlements in the state capital on red alert, namely: Shamaki, Bolari-East and Herwagana wards of Gombe Local Government Area (LGA).
The state had, within the first and second quarters, announced an outbreak of cholera in Yalmatu Deba and Akko LGAs, with 178 persons treated and discharged, while two children reportedly died.
“We now have a total of 77 cases of gastroenteritis and 48 of them have been confirmed to be positive for cholera. Out of the 77 cases, we lost four patients from the 48 positive cholera cases.
“With the threshold of confirmed cases reached, I hereby declare an outbreak of cholera in Shamaki, Bolari-East and Herwagana wards of Gombe LGA,” he announced.
He emphasised the need for personal hygiene, noting that water collected from wells must be filtered while vegetables should be washed with vinegar or salt water before consumption.
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According to him, the ministry is working with the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources to mitigate it.
Dahiru further said that government had designated temporary treatment and rehydration centre for cholera in Gombe local government at the Tudun-Wada Primary Healthcare Centre.
