Mirian Gom 
KANO, Nigeria – Two inmates have died following a cholera outbreak at the Kurmawa Medium Security Custodial Centre in Kano State, the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has confirmed.
The Service said laboratory tests conducted on September 23 by its medical team and Kano State public health authorities confirmed the outbreak, which was first detected six days earlier after an inmate developed vomiting and diarrhoea.
In a statement issued on Saturday by its spokesman, Chief Superintendent of Corrections JN Osuji, the NCoS said the affected inmate was admitted and treated at the facility’s medical centre while emergency response measures were activated. “The inmate was immediately admitted and treated at the facility’s medical centre, while emergency medical protocols were activated the following morning as health workers intensified medical intervention and monitoring,” Osuji said.
According to the Service, one of the two deaths occurred at the custodial centre, while the second was recorded at the Kano State Infectious Diseases Hospital.
The NCoS said coordinated medical interventions had brought the outbreak under control, with no additional deaths recorded since the diagnosis.
It said further preventive measures had been introduced in collaboration with the Kano State Government to contain the outbreak and reduce the risk of further transmission within the facility.
The Service added that disease surveillance, early detection and prompt medical intervention were being strengthened across custodial facilities.
It also said the Controller-General of Corrections had directed a team of senior medical personnel from the Service’s National Headquarters to proceed to the facility for sustained monitoring of the situation. “The Controller-General has further directed a team of senior medical personnel from the Service’s National Headquarters to proceed to the facility for sustained monitoring of the situation,” the statement said.
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