Roundup: Nigeria moves to stem meningitis outbreak

For several weeks, the Nigerian federal government has been leading a multi-agency Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) Outbreak Control Team (OOT) to coordinate the response, given the size of the outbreak and the number of states affected.

The Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), through Chikwe Ihekweazu, the center Chief Executive Officer, said it has recorded 1,966 suspected cases of Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) between November 2016 and March 28.

The outbreak reached epidemic proportions in five states with 282 deaths. The Center listed the states as Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina and Niger.

The OOT included representatives from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), World Health Organization, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Medecins Sans Frontieres and EHealth Africa.

The team is focusing on communicating prevention messages, strengthening surveillance, case detection, verification and management as well as communication and coordination across the affected states.

Ihekweazu said 1,966 suspected cases have been recorded while 109 have been confirmed since the outbreak of the disease in February in the country.

He said the center had deployed a response team to the affected states to vaccinate the residents and control further spread of CSM.

According to him, Zamfara has the highest number of confirmed cases of 44, followed by Katsina with 32, Sokoto 19, Kebbi 10 and Niger 4 confirmed cases.

He added that there is an inter-agency response supporting the states to contain the outbreak through the primary mode of vaccination.

However, Ihekweazu said a new strand of meningitis called "stereotype C" has emerged in place of the previous known type "stereotype A", which has disappeared.

He regretted that there was not yet commercially available vaccine for this new stereotype "C" meningitis.

The chief executive officer assured that the center would work with state governments in the North West and North Central, where most cases were recorded, to ensure better preparation and avert similar outbreak next year.

Ihekweazu said prevention and early detection was key to combating the disease, if detected early, it could be treated with antibiotics.

He said the center was working with the states by supporting and ensuring they have the supplies to combat the disease.

Lawal Bakare, the spokesperson for NCDC in Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub, said NPHCDA is working closely with WHO to ensure that we get access to vaccines needed to respond to the outbreak and prevent further cases.

CSM outbreaks are caused mostly by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A (NmA).

These outbreaks occur in the dry season due to its low humidity and dusty conditions and usually ends with the onset of the rainy season.

Humphrey Okoroukwu, a public health expert, advised Nigerians to live in ventilated environment during hot seasons to prevent Cerebro Spinal Meningitis (CSM).

Okoroukwu identified meningitis as one of the diseases that is associated with hot weather and normally occurred between November and March or April annually.

He said there is an ongoing mass vaccination against the disease in the territory.

He added that other non-communicable diseases associated with the weather are measles, heatstroke (collapse) and burns which normally affect albinos, among others.

Okoroukwu said the disease has incubation period of three to four days or rather two to 10 days as the case may be.

The director identified the signs and symptoms as similar to malaria, saying such signs include fever, headache, nausea and vomiting.

According to him, meningitis signs are high irritability, reacting to light, stiffness of the neck at the latter stage.

Okoroukwu told reporters that though research has proven that everybody is at risk of the disease considering their environment, however emphasized that age one to 29 are mostly at risk of the disease.

He however urged the public to report to the nearest hospital on noticing any health challenge during this period. Endit