As the deadly meningitis disease continues to spread around Nigeria taking lives in its trail, the FG has moved to curb it.
File photo: Dead body
The Federal Government on Tuesday confirmed that 336 persons had been killed by Cerebrospinal Meningitis.
According to The Punch, the FG said a total of 2,997 suspected
cases of the disease had been reported in 16 states since Monday.
The government had dispatched a team made up of local and foreign
medical experts to Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina and Niger states
where cases of meningitis were recorded.
A statement by the Technical Assistant (Communication), Nigeria
Centre for Disease Control, Dr. Lawal Bakare, said the government was
making efforts to stop the disease from spreading.
He said the government had activated an Emergency Operations Centre
to manage the ongoing outbreak of the disease in five North-West
states.
Bakare said, “As of April 3, 2017, a total of 2,997 suspected
cases of CSM were reported in 16 states out of which 146 have been
laboratory-confirmed. Unfortunately, 336 deaths have also been recorded.
“We are confident that we have turned the tide, and with
increasing vaccination activities, expect a reduction in number of
cases. Most importantly the lessons learned from this outbreak will
help the country prepare for the future.”
Bakare said the activation of the EOC had brought a national
response into an Incidence Management System to ensure that all
activities in the country would be managed using a clear command and
control structure led by an Incident Manager.
He added, “With this new coordinating structure, the country
will have a tight, multi-partner team of experts from the most
competent agencies focusing on outbreak control in Nigeria. The Head of
Emergency Preparedness and Response at the NCDC, Dr. John Oladejo, will
act as the IM of the response, while experts from the Federal Ministry
of Health, NCDC, NPHCDA, WHO, UNICEF, Africa Centre for Disease Control,
US Centre for Disease Control, Medecins Sans Frontieres, AFENET,
University of Maryland and E-Health Africa play key roles in different
units that focus on five key components of the outbreak response.
“A total of 500,000 doses of Meningitis C vaccines have been
distributed to some of the affected states for immediate outbreak
response vaccination. An additional 823,970 doses of Meningitis C
vaccines are expected from the United Kingdom to support vaccination
activities in other affected States.”