Meningitis
Meningitis in 130 LGAs, kills 183. Nigeria has recorded 287 confirmed cases of meningitis out of 2,707 suspected cases, including 183 deaths, for a case-fatality ratio of 6.8 percent.
From October 2022 to July 2, 2023, their cases were recorded from 130 Local Government Areas in 24 states in Nigeria, including the Federal Capital Territory.
This is according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention’s epidemiological report on the disease.
Meningitis is a potentially fatal infection of the meninges, the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord. It is a terrible disease that continues to pose a serious public health challenge. Many pathogens, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses, can cause the disease, but bacteria inflict the most global impact.
Meningitis can be caused by a variety of microorganisms. The most common are Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Neisseria meningitidis. N. meningitidis, which causes meningococcal meningitis, is the most likely to cause significant epidemics.
Meningococcal meningitis is spread from person to person via droplets of respiratory and throat secretions, which are normally carried by asymptomatic carriers. Close, prolonged contact with an infected person, or living with a carrier, facilitates the spread of the disease. The average incubation period is four days but can range between two and 10 days.
The suspected CSM cases were recorded in Abia, Adamawa, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Delta, Ebonyi, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Oyo, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, and Zamfara states.
The report partly read that as of July 2, “A total of 2,707 suspected cases including 183 deaths have been reported from 24 states in this 2022/2023 CSM season. A total of 667 samples collected (25 per cent) from 2,707 suspected cases from beginning of the outbreak, and 298 confirmed (45 per cent positivity rate).
“The five to 14-year-old age group was the most affected. 54 per cent of the total suspected cases were Males. 98 per cent of all suspected cases were from six (10) states – Jigawa (1508 cases), Yobe (654 cases), Katsina (177 cases), Bauchi (123 cases), Zamfara (53 cases), Adamawa (45 cases), Gombe (26 cases), Kano (10 cases) and Sokoto (10 cases).
“Nineteen LGAs across five states, Jigawa (10), Katsina (4), Yobe (2), Bauchi (2), and Zamfara (1), reported more than 20 cases each this 2022/2023 CSM season.”
The NCDC, on the other hand, stated that it will continue to provide crucial response goods to affected states.