Posted on: Tue 10-08-2021

Niger health minister on Monday said cholera outbreak in southern Niger has killed 12 people and infected 201 others across three regions with heavy rains helping to further spread the disease.

Health minister Idi Illiassou Mainassara said in a statement that health authorities in Niger believe the outbreak is epidemic.

“Most of the cases are related to an epidemic that has been raging for several months in neighbouring cross-border regions where there is significant mixing of cross-border populations.”

The previous cholera outbreak in Niger occurred in the same regions in 2018, Mainassara said.

Niger’s border with Nigeria is a hot spot for cholera outbreaks, where populations often move freely between both countries with minimal restrictions, Mainassara said.

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