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Meningitis
hits Adamawa, kills 3 corps members The CSM outbreak has claimed 13 other lives out of the 203 cases so far recorded in the state. CSM, an epidemic prone disease mostly caused by a bacterium - Nesseriae meningitis, usually takes a cycle of 10-12 years. Some of the classic symptoms of the disease are fever, vomiting, intense headache, and stiffness in the neck. The last major CSM epidemic in Nigeria occurred in 1996/97 when over 108,568 cases and about 11,231 deaths were recorded. Adamawa State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Zainab Kwonchi told newsmen in Yola yesterday that the magnitude of the epidemic is increasing daily. The Commissioner disclosed that 14 of the 21 local government areas of the state have already been ravaged by the disease. She announced that vaccines for the disease are expensive and that the present economic meltdown is hampering the state government=s efforts to provide the necessary vaccines to contain the disease. Vaccines exhausted in endemic areas According to her, 6,700 doses of CSM vaccines earlier supplied to the state by the Federal Government have been exhausted in Madagali, Michika and Song Local Government Areas, where the disease is endemic. The Commissioner maintained that the State is presently running shortage
of drugs and appealed to non-governmental organisations and other philanthropist
groups to come to the aid of the State. AThe Youth Corps members have been advised to stop crowding themselves in rooms. They should endeavour to sleep outside as majority of them are not conversant with the harsh weather in the state,@ she advised. We anticipated this C Health minister The recent outbreak of Cerebro-spinal Meningitis (CSM) in parts of northern Nigeria did not catch the nation’s health authorities unawares. Investigations by Vanguard show that preparations were already in place to contain the disease in the nation’s “meningitis belt” long before the outbreak. AWe anticipated the CSM epidemic this year,” Minister of Health, Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin noted in a situation report last week. AOn 3rd September, 2008, we alerted all the states in the meningitis belt to intensify surveillance, pre-position drugs and laboratory materials and sensitise the public on preventive measures. Indeed, right from August 2008, the Ministry had pre-positioned all the states in the meningitis belt with oily chloramphenicol as well as laboratory reagents and materials for confirmation of cases.@ Osotimehin said: “It was on 10 November 2008, when the World Health Organization (WHO) alerted us of a possible serious outbreak of the disease this year and advised us to intensify surveillance, strengthen laboratory network, reactivate EPR Committee, ensure emergency stocks and supplies, strengthen supportive supervision and conduct rapid assessment of laboratories.” The Minister further noted that on 28 January, the Presidency alerted the Health Ministry of an outbreak of CSM in the Zinder Region of Niger Republic and requested urgent action to be taken to avert outbreak of the disease in Kano, Katsina and Jigawa States. “By the end of February 2009, 5,323 cases and 333 deaths have been reported from 22 states, with 89 LGAs crossing the epidemic threshold. Precisely between January 15-16, 2009 with the support from WHO, the ministry conducted assessment of the capacity of state public health laboratories to carry out confirmation of CSM.” Following the alert of CSM outbreak in Niger Republic, on 20th January, the Health Minister had alerted the Governors of Jigawa, Kano and Katsina States on the impending emergency. In his letter, the Health Minister requested the Governors to immediately direct their State Ministries of Health to intensify surveillance and public education on the mode of prevention of the disease. In addition, they were urged to preposition drugs and other consumables and improve laboratory confirmation of cases. Following report of increasing number of cases and deaths, on 17-20 February, the WHO further supported the Federal Ministry of Health to conduct cases detection, verification and confirmation in Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe and Borno States. 160,000 doses arrive in February This activity was with intensive laboratory back up. Even as all this was going on, respite came on Thursday 19th February, with the arrival of 160,000 doses of trivalent CSM vaccines in the country. The vaccines, donated by UNICEF Headquarters in Geneva, were quickly distributed by the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) to the seven most affected States, namely Adamawa, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina and Yobe.
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