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Vaccination
for Meningitis. Image credit: SundiataPost
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The Federal Ministry of
Health in response to the current cerebrospinal meningitis outbreak across some
states in the country has issued a public advisory note on how to curtail the
spread of the disease and advised Nigerians to remain calm as the ministry is
working to put an end to the epidemic.
PREMIUM
TIMES report continues:
The
ministry also said 328 deaths have been recorded so far.
A
press statement signed by Boade Akinola, Director Media and Public Relations
released on Friday, said the current outbreak of Cerebro Spinal Meningitis,
CSM, has spread across the country, mostly affecting states in the part of
Nigeria which fall within the African Meningitis Belt.
The
situation report from the ministry as at Friday, March 31, show that 90 local
government areas in 16 states of the federation have so far been affected
including Zamfara, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Nasarawa, Jigawa, FCT,
Gombe, Taraba, Yobe, Osun, Cross Rivers, Lagos and Plateau.
The
epidemic is not unique to Nigeria, the ministry said, with other neighbouring
West African countries like Niger, Chad, Cameroun, Togo and Burkina Faso are
facing similar outbreak.
Current Situation
According
to statistics from the federal health ministry, 2,524 people have been affected
across the states, 131 samples confirmed in the laboratory with majority as
meningitides type C, and 328 deaths recorded so far.
The
outbreak started in Zamfara State in November, 2016. The ministry has,
however, advised Nigerians to remain calm as the disease is preventable and
curable if presented early.
“We
advise Nigerians to continue abiding by health advice which will be issued
periodically as feedback of the situation will be given to the public”, it
stated.
Some
of the health advice given for prevention are avoidance of overcrowding, sleep
in well ventilated places, avoidance of close and prolonged contact with cases,
proper disposal of respiratory and throat secretions, strict observance of hand
hygiene, reduce hand shaking, kissing, sharing utensils or medical intervention
such as mouth resuscitation.
Self-medication
should also be avoided and relevant stereotype vaccination for meningococcal
should be taken. It is also important for individuals to acquaint themselves
with basic knowledge of CSM in order to prevent transmission.
Mrs.
Akinola said people should seek early treatment as all secondary and tertiary
public health facilities have been directed to provide free treatment to all
CSM patients.
“Although
the cumulative number of people and locations affected may continue to
increase, the actual rate of increase has begun to decline in some states
indicating that the end to the epidemic is in sight,” she added.
FG, States In
High-Stakes Fight With Meningitis
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Photo
of a child suffering from cerebro-spinal meningitis Image credit: VOA
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Daily
Trust reports that as the recent outbreak of Cerebro Spinal Meningitis (CSM)
continues to claim lives and spread to more states, the federal, state
governments and other stakeholders are working frantically to curtail the
spread.
Some
of the affected states were not prepared for the present outbreak which health
experts said was caused by a new strain of the disease.
Daily
Trust investigations revealed that the disease is spreading to more states
than those officially mentioned by the government on Thursday.
The
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said until recently meningitis
outbreaks were caused mostly by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A (NmA) and
occur in the dry season, due to low humidity and dusty conditions and usually
ends with the onset of the rainy season.
The
Executive Director NCDC, Chikwe Ihekweazu, said 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.
The
NCDC said the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) is
leading a reactive vaccination in Zamfara State, while a similar response is
currently being planned in Kebbi and Sokoto states.
The
centre said vaccines that provide protection to Neisseria meningitidis
serogroup C (NmC) were not commercially available and need to be acquired
through a special process managed by the World Health Organization (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 mobilization focusing
on grassroots engagement,” the centre said.
In
Niger State, our correspondent learnt that Magama was worst hit with 31 deaths
out of the 33 new mortalities, while Rijau and Agwara recorded one each.
Health
officials believe the situation has become an epidemic with the number of
confirmed cases rising to 88 as at Thursday despite the fact that vaccination
was on-going in the troubled areas and adjoining communities.
In
Katsina State, the Permanent Secretary Katsina State Ministry of Health, Dr
Kabir Mustapha, said the death toll had risen above 34 two weeks earlier.
He
said the government was in talks with Pfizer pharmaceutical company to secure
vaccines, noting that “we are made to understand there is limited stock of
vaccines, so we are trying to raise money to buy from them. The vaccines are
scarce. But we are doing our best to get vaccines from Pfizer just like all the
affected states.
He
revealed that the state government has already deployed team of experts to
contain the situation in the affected areas and prevent spread to other local
governments.
In
Jigawa State, where one person was reported dead while four others are
receiving treatment, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Abba Zakari, who
spoke through his Permanent secretary, Dr. Muhammad A. Kainuwa, said the cases
were reported from four local government areas of the state.
Dr.
Zakari explained that apart from public enlightenment on how to prevent the
disease, the state ministry of Health had also embarked on aggressive disease
surveillance, particularly in the border towns.
About
300 doses of vaccine were expected to arrive Zamfara State yesterday as part of
the measures to curb the epidemic in the state, Commissioner for Health Alhaji
Sulaiman Gummi had said.
Gummi
said the vaccines were donated by the Federal government, and Governor
Abdulaziz Yari had directed all the 14 local government areas to expend ₦3m
each to purchase drugs to respond to the challenging health issues on time.
“A
committee was set up under the leadership of the secretary to the state
government, Prof. Abdullahi Muhammad Shinkafi, to go round the state and
distribute the preventive and curative drugs,” he added.
Alhaji
Gummi confirmed that 80 persons had lost their lives to Cerebrospinal
Meningitis in the state in the last two months.
A
health official at the Yarima Bakura Specialist Hospital said they receive
cases of meningitis from different parts of the state almost on daily basis.
In
Sokoto State, after weeks of battling with meningitis, which claimed 23 lives,
the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Balarabe Shehu, said a lot of people
were beginning to respond to sensitization campaign on the fight against the
disease and bringing their patients earlier to the hospital.
According
to him, over 10,000 meningitis and malaria patients had been treated since the
declaration of state of high alert on the health sector on March 20.
He
said one of the factors that worsened the situation before the declaration was
poor awareness as traditional belief in witchcraft had affected the fight
against the disease.
The
state ministry of Health had declared state of High Alert with 15 rapid
response health teams which comprised 150 medical personnel from the ministry,
agencies and hospitals.
The
teams which included medical doctors, nurses, medical laboratory scientists and
other professionals were deployed to all the 23 local government areas of the
state with ambulances, free drugs, logistics and other essential needs.
They
embarked on statewide, house-to-house extraction of patients, for evacuation to
hospitals for free treatment as well as massive sensitization campaigns on the
need for people in the state to ensure personal and environmental hygiene.
Bauchi
State has flagged off vaccination against Cerebro Spinal Meningitis to prevent
its emergence and spread in the state.
Head
of the state primary health care agency, Adamu Ibrahim Gamawa, said the
vaccination was kicked off Monday at the Bauchi Central Prison where both the
inmates and the Nigeria Prisons Service staff were vaccinated against the
disease.
He
noted that although the state has not recorded an outbreak since the onset of
the hot weather, it has not neglected the fact that it is rampant during the
hot season as such measures must be put in place to monitor the situation.
He
added that the two suspected cases reported in a part of the state had not been
confirmed and might be Cerebral Malaria which he said exhibit similar symptoms
to Cerebro Spinal Meningitis.
The
Kwara State Commissioner for Health, Mr. Sulaiman Atolage Alege, said the state
is prepared in case of an outbreak.
“There’s
no case of meningitis in the state yet but we have directed all the directors
in the health sector to be on alert. We have also started sensitization to
educate our people on how to create avenues to get fresh air in homes and also
caution them on the need for prompt response by contacting the ministry if they
notice any sign of the disease.
The
commissioner said the state ministry of health is working with the World Health
Organization (WHO) and the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control in case there is
an outbreak.
Meningitis is an inflammation of the membrane that covers the brain and spinal cord. “Our brains and spinal cords are covered by membranes called meninges; they help to protect these delicate organs from infection and even direct physical injury. The infection of the meninges by microorganisms such as bacteria or viruses results in the condition known as meningitis. Viral and bacterial infections are the most common cause but bacterial meningitis is much more serious due to its rapid onset and its significant risk of death,” said the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
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