The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) says it has contained a cholera outbreak at the Kurmawa Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kano, following two deaths.
The NCoS made this known in a statement issued on Saturday by its Service Public Relations Officer, CSC J.N. Osuji.
It said the outbreak was confirmed through laboratory investigation on Sept. 23 by the NCoS medical team and Kano State public health authorities.
According to the statement, the incident was first detected on Sept. 17, when an inmate presented with vomiting and diarrhoea and was immediately admitted and treated at the centre’s medical facility.
It said that by the following morning, the medical team activated emergency medical protocols, while intensifying medical intervention and monitoring.
The service said the coordinated interventions successfully brought the outbreak under control, adding that no further mortality had been recorded since the diagnosis.
It, however, regretted that the outbreak claimed two lives, one at the facility and the other at the Kano State Infectious Diseases Hospital.
The Controller-General of Corrections, Mr Sylvester Nwakuche, who was immediately briefed, directed that all necessary measures be sustained to protect the lives, health and welfare of inmates and personnel.
Nwakuche also extended condolences to the families of those who died in the incident.
The statement said the service had initiated additional preventive measures in collaboration with the Kano State Government to prevent future occurrences.
It added that healthcare services remained available across custodial facilities through qualified medical personnel, while disease surveillance, early detection and prompt medical response were being strengthened in collaboration with relevant public health authorities.
The controller-general also 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 service reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that persons in custody were treated humanely, with their health, dignity and welfare protected in accordance with the Nigerian Correctional Service Act, 2019, and established correctional standards.
It urged members of the public to rely on verified information from official channels as it continued to provide updates on the situation.