Nigeria has recorded 212 new suspected infections and 23 deaths of Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) across three states of the federation.
CSM is an acute inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and the spinal cord.
In a new report released Saturday by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the number of new suspected cases in the reporting week 13 spanning 27 March to 2 April 2023, increased by 8 per cent compared to the previous week 12 (196).
The NCDC report shows that Jigawa State in the North-west accounted for 62 per cent of the suspected cases, while Yobe and Adamawa in the North-east reported 17 and four cases respectively.
The disease control centre also noted that 23 died from the disease with Yobe recording 17 while Jigawa recorded nine.
The centre added that the National multi-sectoral CSM Technical Working Group will continue to monitor response across states.
22 states affected
Giving a further breakdown of CSM in Nigeria, NCDC explained in the report that from the beginning of the season, 22 states have reported suspected CSM cases in 2022/2023.
NCDC stated that cumulatively from week 40 of 2022 to week 13 of 2023, a total of 1,479 suspected cases including 118 deaths representing a case fatality rate (CFR) of 9.3 per cent were reported from 22 states in CSM seasons.
“A total of 512 samples were collected, 235 confirmed with 46 per cent positivity rate since the beginning of the CSM seasons 2022/2023,” NCDC noted.
The disease control centre said the age group five to 14 years were the most affected age, of which males were 57 per cent, while females constitute 43 per cent.
NCDC added that 93 per cent of all cumulative cases were from five states: Jigawa (1,064 cases), Yobe (234 cases), Zamfara (36 cases), Bauchi (23 cases) and Adamawa (21 cases).
Jigawa leads outbreak
With more emphasis on the North-western state, NCDC explained that Jigawa has been in an outbreak since week 40 of 2022 with 11 out of its 22 Local Government Areas (LGAs) affected.
Of the total 1,064 suspected cases, 213 cases were confirmed while 65 deaths with CFR 6.1 per cent were recorded in the state as of week 13.
Response
In response to the outbreak, NCDC said it, in collaboration with partners, deployed RRT and materials to support Jigawa State’s outbreak response.
It added that a reactive vaccination led by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) was conducted in 17 wards of four LGAs of Jigawa State between 25 to 26 March 2023.
The LGAs are Sule Tankarkar, Gumel, Maigatari and Gagarawa.
About Meningitis
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Meningitis is a serious infection of the meninges, the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord.
WHO describes it as “a devastating disease that remains a major public health challenge,” adding that “it can be caused by many different pathogens including bacteria, fungi or viruses, but the highest global burden is seen with bacterial meningitis.”
On transmission, WHO said the bacteria that cause meningitis are transmitted from person-to-person through droplets of respiratory or throat secretions from carriers.
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