It seems the end of the ravaging Cerebro Spinal Meningitis (CSM) serotype C is still far off as the number of deaths hit 813 according to figure released by the Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole.
The minister disclosed this figure at the Federal Executive Council meeting yesterday at the State House in Abuja.
Mr. Adewole said though the outbreak which started in Nigeria in 2016 is now spreading more slowly, the disease has killed 813 people.
“As of yesterday (Tuesday), the number of deaths stood at 813”, Mr. Adewole told journalists after the cabinet meeting, adding however, “As of now, we are also noticing a decline”.
“This is week 16. This is also expected because we are moving away from the active season. We are confident that in the next couple of weeks everything will be over.”
The number of death from the disease was also confirmed by the Senate President in a tweet on his twitter page on Wednesday.
“We’ve lost about 800 people to Meningitis – this should not be the case. We must encourage families to take their children for vaccination”, he said in the tweet.
“As we mark #WorldImmunizationWeek, we must all encourage our families and communities to embrace vaccines as a preventive healthcare measure”, Mr. Saraki stated.
The first case of the disease was first reported in Zamfara state in November 2016. By February 2017, it had become more widespread in the Northwest and North-central zones in Nigeria and was declared an epidemic in six states Katsina, Kebbi, Zamfara, Niger, Sokoto and Yobe. The governors, the federal ministry of health and other agencies must be blamed for not being proactive and swift in responding to this disease.
Meningitis is an inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, usually caused by bacterial, viral, fungal or parasitic infection of the surrounding fluid. Viral and Bacterial meningitis are contagious and can usually be transmitted by overcrowding, coughing, sneezing and close contact. Epidemic meningitis is most often caused by the bacteria known as Neisseria Meningitidies. It has different strains but Serotype C accounts for about 80% of the Nigerian outbreak.
Meningitis is common in Sub Saharan Africa and countries like Nigeria, Senegal, Niger, Chad, Benin, Mali, Burkina Faso etc make up the ‘Meningitis Belt’ because of the likelihood of meningitis epidemics every few years. The most affected age group is 5-14 years of age and those affected may exhibit symptoms such as high fever, headache, neck stiffness, photophobia, altered mental status, nausea, vomiting etc Though meningitis is treatable, it still has a high morbidity and fatality rate
