Meningitis outbreak declines in Nigeria: official

The number of new cases of suspected Cerebro Spinal Meningitis is declining in most affected Nigerian states, an official with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said Thursday.

Plans have already started to prevent future outbreaks and ensure better preparedness as more vaccines arrive, Lawal Bakare, spokesperson for NCDC said in a statement reaching Xinhua in Lagos.

Bakare said reactive vaccination campaigns led by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency were successfully conducted first in Zamfara and subsequently in Sokoto State.

He added both state governments have fully engaged in conducting the campaigns in order to ensure that the vaccines get to the people who are most at risk.

"As at the May 9, 2017, 13,420 suspected cases of meningitis have been reported from 23 states with 1,069 deaths, giving a case fatality ratio of eight percent," he added.

"In the previous two weeks, the most affected states (namely Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina and Kebbi States) have all recorded a drop in number of cases but Kebbi and Niger States reported zero deaths over this period," he said.

Bakare said the response to the campaign has been excellent with a very high turnout of people at vaccination centers in Zamfara and Sokoto states.

He said the government and partners will continue to work to reduce the effect of the current outbreak on affected communities and ensure that the outbreak is fully controlled.

Meningitis is a serious and potentially fatal disease caused by different bacteria. It is an inflammation of the lining around the brain and spinal cord, and usually occurs during the dry season, with symptoms such as fever, body aches, headaches, loss of appetite and stiffness in the neck. Endit