Over twenty people are said to have died following the suspected outbreak of a diseases believed to be Cerebro Spinal Meningitis in Sokoto State, northwest of Nigeria.
According to Channels TV, a reliable source in the state government confirmed this development to the news platform on Sunday, March 26, 2017.
The deaths were said to have occurred in seven local governments of Kebbe, Bodinga, Rabah, Wamakko, Gada, Dange/Shuni and Tureta.
The state government said that so far, it has deployed about 15 medical teams, comprising of over 150 medical personnel to the 23 local governments of the state to prevent further spread.
The government also added that Emergency Response Teams have so far treated no fewer than 330 mixed cases of severe malaria and meningitis across the seven top-hit local governments.
The last time there was an outbreak of such nature, was in 2015, when the Federal Ministry of Health of Nigeria reported an increase in suspected cases in states including Sokoto and Kebbi.
FG Warns of New Strain Of Meningitis
The federal government says it has deployed epidemiologists and vaccines to arrest the outbreak of a new a strain of Cerebro Spinal Meningitis, CSM, in parts of the country.
The minister of health, Isaac Adewole said this on Thursday, March 16, 2017 in Abuja that the new strain, which is not common in Nigeria, was imported from Niger Republic.
Adewole said that the new strain requires a different type of vaccine and a team of epidemiologists have been deployed to address the challenge.
He described the outbreak of meningitis in Sokoto and Zamfara states as an unfortunate incidence, stressing that the ministry is working hard to contain the situation.
“It has become an annual ritual under this administration; we would want to put an end to annual outbreak of meningitis in some of the northern states.
“I have just spoken with the commissioner for health in Zamfara who is appreciative of what the Federal Ministry of Health has been doing through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
“We have sent field epidemiologists; they are actually called disease detectives, to support them at the state level,’’ Adewole said.
The minister said that government have provided vaccines and would continue to do more in terms of whatever was needed with respect to material and technical support to overcome the outbreak.
“What we know in public health is that there is always an outbreak, but what is uncertain is where and the type.
“We want to be ready at any time,’’ he said.
