The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Cerebro Spinal Meningitis (CSM)

  • ‘Disease Control Centre removes Zamfara from CSM endemic list’

    The National Center for Disease Control has removed Zamfara from its list of states prone to Cerebro Spinal Meningitis ( CSM ) outbreak, says the state Commissioner of Health, Alhaji Lawali Liman.

    Liman made the disclosure on Tuesday while briefing a team of journalists on National Democracy Dividend Media Tour organized by the National Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists ( NUJ ).

    He explained that the removal of Zamfara was a result of its sustained surveillance and case management of the disease.

    “Out of the 147 wards, we only have challenges in seven wards at a time when some states of the federation are facing threats in all their wards,” he said.

    The commissioner said that the state government recently renovated and equipped Primary Healthcare Center in each of the 147 wards to bring health care services closer to rural dwellers.

    “Apart from the recent recruitment of 100 medical doctors and over 300 nurses and midwives, the state government is also working towards the establishment of referral hospitals in Talata-Mafara, Gummi and Kaura-Namoda,” he added.

    Liman also explained that the government distributed HIV/AIDS kits to 90 health facilities across the state with a view to checking prevalence and avoiding spread.

    He said that the effort has enabled the state retain its position of having the lowest cases of HIV/AIDS in the country.

    Over 40 journalists drawn from various media houses, led by NUJ National President, Abdulwaheed Odusile,  are on the tour.

    NAN

  • Cerebro Spinal Meningitis identified as Kano strange killer disease

    Kano state government has identified the dreaded (strange) disease that claimed the lives of eight persons in Dungurawa village of Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area of Kano state as type A category of Cerebro Spinal Meningitis ( CSM ).

    The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Kabiru Ibrahim Getso who made the clarification to Reporters in his office yesterday also confirmed that eight people died as a result of the outbreak of the disease.

    According to him, “the epidemiological unit of the Ministry was notified by the Disease Surveillance and Notification Officer of Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area on the 26th March, 2018 of eight deaths which occurred in Kunnawa settlement of Gargari Ward of the Local Government.

    “A rapid response team was immediately dispatched consisting of epidemiologists, medical doctors, laboratory scientists, environmentalists and other relevant professionals to investigate and confirm the authenticity of the report and establish the cause of the deaths and identify if there are people with similar conditions so as to avert further deaths.”

    Getso said their findings revealed that the deceased persons had high grade fever, vomiting and convulsions, adding that, “the result of the laboratory test on the additional cases showed that they were afflicted by cerebro Spinal Meningitis ( CSM ) Type A.

    In addition, he said six cases were discovered which showed that they were afflicted with CSM Type A, “and they are all now receiving treatment at the hospital.”

    He said the state government has taken adequate measures   to curb the spread of the disease which include strengthening and intensified surveillance at all levels of health care delivery, procurement of vaccines and embark on aggressive mobilization and enlightenment campaign as well as strengthening the laboratory capacity.

    He also said that the state government is now in consultation with the Federal Ministry of Health to secure vaccines adding that the vaccines globally are not readily available as they are very expensive and cannot be stored or kept for too long.

    He, however, advised residents to live in ventilated areas and avoid overcrowding, especially at night and report any cases of such symptoms to relevant authorities.

  • Meningitis kills eight in Katsina

    Cerebro Spinal Meningitis (CSM) has killed not less than eight people at Tsabu village in Mai’adua Local Government Area of Katsina State, an official has said.

    Alhaji Nasiru Mani, the Director of Primary Health Care of the council, confirmed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Mai’adua on Thursday.

    Mani said the outbreak of the deadly disease was discovered in the last two days following a report from the community.

    He said that 16 cases were recorded out of which eight people lost their lives.

    According to him, the remaining patients have been admitted at the Mai’adua and Daura general hospitals for proper medical attention.

    “We (LGC) had since deployed a surveillance team to the area to address the situation,’’ said the director.

    He said the combined efforts of state and local government medical teams have succeeded in addressing the problem.

    “I called on our people to avail themselves for the ongoing vaccination against such diseases to curb further spread of the disease.

    “We have designated centres at our rural clinics where people are being immunised or vaccinated against such diseases,” he said.

    Mani commended the role of Medicines San Frontiers (MSF) or doctors without borders for their efforts in addressing the outbreak.

    He called on the people of the area to adhere to the safety measures of sleeping inside ventilated rooms, houses and environs.

    Besides, the director advised residents to report suspicious cases and visit nearby health centres over any symptom.

     

  • Sokoto to immunize citizens against meningitis – Commissioner

    Sokoto State Government says plans have reached an advanced stage to immunize two million people against Cerebro Spinal Meningitis (CSM) across the 23 local government areas of the state.

     

    The Commissioner for Health, Dr Balarabe Kakale made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Sokoto on Friday.

     

    He said that the exercise would cover mostly persons between the ages of one to 30 years.

     

    “We have already received 20,000 doses of the type C strain of CSM from the Federal Government, out of the initial request of 800,000 doses we made.

     

    “We are expecting more consignments of the vaccines and we will soon commence the statewide vaccination.’’

     

    Kakale stated that the World Health Organisation (WHO) would train the vaccinators to ensure the exercise was error-free.

     

    “WHO provided the vaccines to the Federal Government, while the Federal Government distributed them to the states, including Sokoto State.

     

    “The organisation will therefore train the vaccinators for them to conduct the exercise in line with the risk assessment tools,’’ he said.

     

    The commissioner, however, noted that the meningitis epidemic had been brought under control across the state.

     

    Kakale further said that a referral centre had been established by the state government at the Murtala General Hospital, Sokoto.

     

    According to him, the centre is being manned jointly by medical personnel deployed by the state government and Medicines Sans Frontiers (MSF).

     

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that MSF is an international Non Governmnetal Organisation (NGO), made up of Doctors without Border complementing the efforts of the state government in the medical sector.

    “ The state government has provided adequate drugs at the centre for the free treatment of patients.’’

     

    Kakale had a week ago put the death toll of deaths from CSM in the state at 41.

     

  • No confirmed case of meningitis in Oyo – Commissioner

    The Oyo State Government says there is no confirmed record of Cerebro Spinal Meningitis (CSM) outbreak in the state.

    Dr Azeez Adeduntan, the state Commissioner for Health, said this at a news conference in Ibadan on Friday.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Adeduntan was reacting to a media report of two suspected cases of meningitis in the state.

    Meningitis is an acute bacterial illness which is highly contagious.

    Adeduntan affirmed that four patients with symptoms of fever and neck stiffness were seen at Akinyele Local Government Aarea of the state.

    The commissioner stated that two of the four patients were found at the General Hospital, Moniya, while the remaining two were seen at private health facilities.

    “To further strengthen the suspicion of meningitis, two of these cases had recently travelled to the northern part of the country where quite a number of cases have been confirmed.’’

    However, he said that the initially suspected cases could not be considered as meningitis, considering the negative results they got from the clinical diagnosis of samples taken from the patients.

    “But, following the established protocol for clinical diagnosis, samples were taken from two cases and laboratory investigations carried out.

    “We wish to state that the results revealed no organisms in the cerebrospinal fluids of three of these patients. There has not been any loss of life in all the cases,” he said.

    Adeduntan said that the initially suspected cases could not be considered as meningitis, reassuring the media and residents that the earlier news of an outbreak be disregarded.

    He said that there was currently no outbreak of meningitis in the state, reiterating the state government’s commitment towards ensuring a disease free state.

    Adeduntan explained that the current type of meningitis experienced in some parts of the country was type C, adding that the type C is tougher than the type A which the country had vaccine for.

    The commissioner said that the state had put its facilities on high alert with the deployment of confirmatory resources as well as manpower to all facilities.

    He implored the general public to uphold the hygienic practices of regular hand washing with soap and water, especially after changing diapers and using the toilet.

    “They should also embrace regular hand washing after coughing or blowing the nose, avoid touching the face with unwashed hands and ensure that sick individuals visit the hospital,” he said.

    Adeduntan urged the people to avoid indiscriminate spitting and nose blowing, overcrowding, self-medication and reduce hand shaking, kissing and utensils sharing with victims.

    He implored the people to refer suspected individuals to the nearest public health facility for free and quality care.

    The commissioner also enjoined the people to inform the ministry of any suspected case by calling the following numbers 09058704101, 08025245809 and 08073431342.

     

  • Meningitis: Oyo confirms 2 suspected cases

    Meningitis: Oyo confirms 2 suspected cases

    Dr Oyewole Lawal, Director of Public Health, Oyo State Ministry of Health, on Thursday confirmed two suspected cases of Cerebro Spinal Meningitis (CSM) in Ojoo, Akinyele Local Government Area.

    Lawal made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Ibadan.

    “Our Surveillance Committee has reported two patients in the Hausa Community of Ojoo area of Ibadan, who manifested some symptoms of CSM.

    “The two suspects arrived Ibadan from the Northern part of the country and they manifested some symptoms of CSM.

    “We have beefed-up tracking and increased surveillance efforts in all primary healthcare centres at the local government levels, secondary healthcare level and all the private hospitals around Ojoo.

    “Oyo State Government is making spirited efforts to ensure that officers at the Disease Notification and Surveillance Unit are working assiduously to monitor the suspects.

    “As soon as we get the alert from the state office, we will immediately alert the Disease Notification and Surveillance officers in the 33 local government areas of the state.

    “I can say that Oyo State is fully equipped and ready to prevent or curb the scourge of any outbreak of meningitis in the state,” he said.

    Lawal explained that there was collaboration between the state Ministry of Health, Disease Control Unit and all the 33 local government health offices.

    “We hold meetings every first week of the month where we analyse reports from these local governments.

    “The local government officer concerned usually sends alerts to us at the Ministry of Health, we in turn inform the National Centre for Disease Control, a unit in the Federal Health Ministry.

    “The Federal Ministry then alerts the WHO office and Presidency at the same time. So, we are on top of events in Oyo State,” he said.

    According to him, the type of meningitis recorded in Oyo in 2014 is different from this year meningitis; the 2017 CSM is “Zero Type C’’.

    He said that the state government had requested for vaccines from the Federal Ministry of Health.

    “This is the appropriate body responsible for ordering and procuring vaccines for the treatment, prevention and management of communicable diseases.

    Also, Dr Mercy Popoola, the Director of Hospital Services in Oyo State, told NAN that the state was committed to contain the CSM Zero Type C in the state.

    “Our state hospitals and private hospitals have been prepared for emergencies,” Popoola said.

    She said that Radio and Television stations were involved in the discussion programmes and jingles to educate the people on prevention, treatment and control of communicable diseases.

    In his remarks, Mrs Modupe Aina, the Director, Public Health Nursing, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, said that the hospital had started sensitisation campaigns in 11 health centres in the state.

    Aina called on school owners, parents and religious organisations to create awareness about this disease in homes, schools and religious gatherings.

    Also, Prof. Temitope Alonge, the UCH Chief Medical Director, said that the hospital was in collaboration with other two levels of healthcare delivery in the state.

    “In the area of clinical services, we are prepared to tackle any case of CSM, should it be referred to the UCH,’’ Alonge said.

    He advised the youth to avoid kissing and close prolonged contact with CSM patients.

    According to him, people should sleep in a well-ventilated place, ensure proper disposal of respiratory and throat secretions and strict observance of handwashing.

    “Others are; avoidance of sneezing into elbow joint and sleeves, reduce hand shaking, kissing, sharing utensils or medical interventions like mouth resuscitation and avoidance of self mediation,” he said.

    Alonge said it was a sad development that the country was experiencing an outbreak of CSM which had spread across the country.

    “These states fall within the African meningitis belt.

    “Other countries facing similar outbreaks at the moment include Chad, Niger, Togo, Cameroon, Togo and Burkina Faso.

    “The larger African meningitis belt consists of 26 countries that stretch from Senegal, Gambia and Guinea Bissau, in the west coast to eastern countries of Eritrea and Ethiopia,” he said.

    Alonge said that Nigeria had witnessed worst cases of meningitis, adding that the previous epidemics were caused by “Neisseria menigitis type A’’.

    According to him, this new epidemic we are recording presently is a “Neissria Meningitis type C’’.

    He said that the WHO instituted mass vaccination campaign using the new conjugate vaccine called the “MenAfriVac-A’’ in about 16 out of the 26 countries, including Nigeria.

    Alonge said that this resulted in a considerable reduction of the type meningitis in most countries.

     

  • Kogi at risk of meningitis – NMA

    Kogi at risk of meningitis – NMA

    The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has raised alarm over possible outbreak of) in Kogi, urging the state government and relevant stakeholders to be proactive.

    The state Acting Chairman of NMA, Dr Godwin Tijani, spoke in Lokoja on Thursday, while reacting to the recent reported cases of meningitis in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    Dr Lawal Bakare, the Technical Assistant (Communication), Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, had on Monday declared that the Federal Government was making efforts to stop the disease from spreading.

    Bakare said the government had activated an Emergency Operations Centre to manage the ongoing outbreak of the disease in five North-West states.

    “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,’’ he said.

    Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia describes meningitis as “an acute inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges.

    “The most common symptoms are fever, headache and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or altered consciousness, vomiting, and an inability to tolerate light or loud noises.’’

    According to Tijani, meningitis is a big threat to our state now, since the case has been reported in Abuja, being a transit to Kogi.

    “We are at a great risk since we cannot control or screen the influx of people passing through Kogi to the neighbouring states.

    “ It will be very difficult to identify anyone carrying the causative agent.”

    He said that the state had yet to record any case of Type ‘C’ Cerebrospinal meningitis, but expressed concern over the possible outbreak of CSM, if precautionary measures were not taken.

    The doctor urged people to avoid sleeping in an overcrowded room and maintain a ventilated environment to avert outbreak of the disease.

    Tijani also urged the general public to report to the nearest health centre, any person noticed with the symptoms of fever, persistent headache, neck stiffness and pain, nausea, vomiting and drowsiness.

    He appealed to the electricity distribution companies to help avert the outbreak of meningitis in the country.

    According to him, regular power supply will reduce heat and make people to sleep well in their homes.

    “Most of the cases of meningitis reported today are traceable to excessive heat which is not good for the body,” Tijani said.

     

  • Meningitis: 1,400 inmates vaccinated in Bauchi

    The Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency has vaccinated 1,400 inmates and 240 prisons’ staff against  Cerebro Spinal Meningitis (CSM).

    Mr Adamu Gamawa, the Chairman of the agency, made this known in Bauchi on Thursday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
    According to him, the proactive measure is to prevent the occurrence of the disease among prison inmates in view of the congestion in the prisons.

    He said that the measure would be replicated in similar public facilities to prevent the spread of the disease.

    The chairman said that the agency had requested for more vaccines from the National Primary Health Care Agency to scale up preventive measures.

     

  • FG dismisses Gov. Yari’s views on Meningitis being result of sins

    The Federal Government says the outbreak of ‘Type C’ form of Cerebro-spinal Meningitis (CSM) in some parts of the country has nothing to do with moral or spiritual lifestyles of Nigerians.

    The Minister of State for Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, stated this after the meeting of the Federal Executive Council, which was presided by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Gov. Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara was on Tuesday quoted as saying that the outbreak of the Cerebrospinal Meningitis ‘C’ occurred because of fornication and other sins by Nigerians.

    According to Ehanire, “The Federal Government does not have views of that nature‎ and I am not sure the state government can really continue to make that statement.

    “When things happen; yes you can begin to look at many ways for possible causes.

    “But like I said, nature played us an unfortunate stroke; that is not to say we committed sin or anything.

    “It does happen in this World that things occur out of the blues.’’

    The minister noted that there had been a very robust response of the ministry and the affected state governments in collaboration with the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, Nigeria Primary Health Care Development Agencies, the World Health Organisation, UNICEF; as well as other partners.

    He allayed the fears of Nigerians about the ministry’s response on the outbreak of the virus, adding that already 500,000 doses of vaccines were being distributed to the affected states.

    He further said, “Government is also getting 826,000 units which are being shipped‎ from Europe to us within the next few days.

    “The most affected states have been Zamfara, Sokoto and Katsina and together they have about 85 per cent of the cases. As of today, there have been 2,996 cases in 16 states and 64 local governments.

    “There have been 336 fatalities of which 141 have been confirmed by laboratory tests.

    “There is reactive ‎vaccinations going on already; there is social mobilisation going on, teams are working in the affected states.

    “So in other to allay the fears of Nigerians, we want to make it clear that this is not a sign of failure of the system‎, it is a fact that nature played a very different stroke this time that caught everybody off guard.”

    He announced that two treatment centres were being set up in every local government and lumber puncture kits had also been distributed so that doctors could take samples to laboratories for testing.

  • Meningitis: Medical practitioner gives preventive tips  

    A medical expert, Mr Yusuf Ibrahim, has advised people to ensure good personal hygiene and sleep in well-ventilated rooms to curtail the spread of Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis (CSM).

    Ibrahim gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Wednesday in Hadejia, Jigawa.

    He said the call was imperative to curtail transmission of the disease in view of the outbreak recorded in some parts of the country.

    Ibrahim explained that symptoms of the disease included headache, fever and loss of consciousness in patients with severe infection.

    “Meningitis typically begins with headache; nausea and vomiting, stiff neck, chills and fever.

    “As the disease progresses, the patient becomes less rational, decrease the level of consciousness, and lapses into coma,’’ he said.

    Ibrahim noted that children and adults were vulnerable to infections, adding that the disease could be prevented through proper care and good personal hygiene.

    The medical practitioner advised mothers to bath their children at regular intervals and sleep in a well-ventilated rooms.

    “Caregivers should give special attention to children to keep them healthy. It is also good to wash hands, fruits and vegetables before eating,’’ he said.

    Ibrahim also advised people against extreme exposure to the sun to protect themselves against skin diseases.

    The medical practitioner called on governments and development organisations to increase surveillance and sensitisation activities at grassroots to curtail the disease.