Breaking: 1966 Cases of Meningitis Reported in Nigeria

.As death toll rises to 270

Since the first case of Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) was diagnosed in the North in 2016, not less than 1966 suspected cases have so far been reported as at this week, with the outbreak reaching epidemic proportion in five states, including Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Zamfara and Niger state.

So far, about 270 people have died from the recent outbreak, with the death of a child in Abuja Wednesday being the most recent. The death was confirmed to NAN by the Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Primary Health Care Development Board on Thursday.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said given the size of the outbreak and the number of states affected, it was, in collaboration with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) leading a multi-agency CSM Outbreak Control Team to coordinate response.

It said the team includes representatives from the NPHCDA, World Health Organisation, United Nations Children’s Education Fund, US Centers for Disease Control, Médecins Sans Frontières and EHealth Africa.

According to the Technical Assistant Communications, NCDC, Lawal Bakare, the Outbreak Control Team was focusing on communicating prevention messages, strengthening surveillance, case detection, verification and management as well as communication and coordination across the affected States.

He said NPHCDA was leading a reactive vaccination in Zamfara State, while a similar response was currently being planned in Kebbi and Sokoto States. Vaccines that provide protection to Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C (NmC) are not commercially available and need to be acquired through a special process managed by WHO.

“NPHCDA is working closely with WHO to ensure that we get access to vaccines needed to respond to the outbreak and prevent further cases. In addition, UNICEF is currently supporting affected States to scale up social mobilisation focusing on grassroots engagement.”

While noting that meningitis can be treated if detected early, the Chief Executive Officer, NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, said, “we understand meningitis peaks every year in the dry season in certain States and we must work better with these States to prevent the unnecessary loss of lives.
We must work collectively to stop this outbreak and prevent outbreaks of this scale in the future”.

According to the Director of Surveillance, NCDC, Mrs Olubunmi Ojo, “Immunisation is key to the prevention of meningitis. Between 2011 -2014, the MenAfriVac vaccination campaign against the predominantly circulating Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A in Nigeria then, led to a major reduction in cases recorded from that strain. We now see an outbreak caused predominantly by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C (NmC). While reactive vaccination helps to curtail outbreaks, a vaccination campaign against NmC with a long-lasting conjugate vaccine is sorely needed in the region.

“The NCDC and its partner agencies and institutions at the Federal Ministry of Health will continue to work closely with States and we believe that our concerted efforts will bring this outbreak under control, as we also work towards preventing outbreaks of this scale in the future,” the agency stated.

by Martins Ifijeh