Meningitis in Niger State

Last week, the Niger State government announced that laboratory testing had confirmed 31 cases and four deaths due to an outbreak of Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) – a bacterial infection affecting the brain and the spinal cord – making it a medical emergency. The commissioner of health, Dr. Mustapha Jibril, told newsmen in Minna that the […]

Last week, the Niger State government announced that laboratory testing had confirmed 31 cases and four deaths due to an outbreak of Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) – a bacterial infection affecting the brain and the spinal cord – making it a medical emergency. The commissioner of health, Dr. Mustapha Jibril, told newsmen in Minna that the cases were confined to only two local government areas of Magama and Katcha. As usual, experts have attributed the outbreak to the hot weather coursing through the country.  The commissioner warned that the death count could increase nationally as the heat increases.

He said that the state had activated response measures in all the 25 local government areas while also partnering with World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, Doctors without Borders and civil society organizations. Although the commissioner declared that the outbreak has been confirmed in other states with 11 deaths and 209 suspected cases, Niger State also counted among the states with meningitis outbreak last year with Magama LGA leading the pack with 31 deaths. By March 2017, meningitis had been confirmed in four local government areas (Magama, Kontagora, Rijau and Agwara) in Niger State and 16 deaths in Magama alone.  By April of the same year the number of local government areas affected rose to 12 to include Suleja, Bosso, Tafa, Mariga, Lapai, Gurara, Mashegu and Paikoro.  

There is a clear pattern that the northern part of Niger State is most prone with cases confirmed in six out of the eight LGAs in the zone last year; while Niger East came close with five LGAs affected. However, only one LGA (Lapai) in Niger South was affected and so far, only one (Katcha) has been reported this year.  Therefore, the state should concentrate efforts in the most critical areas.

Commendably, it appears it has learned from the past.  While last year, some of the sufferers blamed the disease on witchcraft,  the Ministry of Health has been educating citizens on the true causes and to avoid overcrowded areas, ventilate their homes and has also deployed rapid test kits (Pastorex Meningitis) in areas prone to the disease.

Meningitis can be passed from person to person through contact with the throat secretions of the carrier which can be facilitated by prolonged physical contact with the carriers especially when they cough and sneeze.  Symptoms include headache, fever, stiff-neck, confusion, altered consciousness and aversion to light and loud noise.

Globally, temperatures have been increasing leading to the world noting   the warmest temperature in 2016.  The years 2010, 2014 and 2015 (in ascending order) have also been unusually warm. Which means that the pattern shows that we might have not seen the last of these cases. Therefore, prevention is the best way forward.  Vaccination is the most effective way to combat CMS but the only way to access the vaccine, according to health experts, is through WHO; which requires a state to reach a certain epidemic threshold before the vaccine could be accessed.

Zamfara and Sokoto states met the requirement last year. But Niger State, even with 33 deaths in 2017, did not qualify. You would think 33 deaths would qualify any community for such preventive measures. Yet, the states can still explore three options. They can implore WHO to push back the threshold to a smaller number; they can ask the Federal Government to find and fund alternative sources for the vaccine or they can come together and partner with manufacturers of the vaccine to buy directly.

This is doable.  It’s not clear how much state governments spend on such epidemics, but by April 2017, Niger State government had already spent 39 million naira in two months on meningitis.  This money can be pooled to fund procurement of vaccines.  In the meantime, campaign on hygienic conditions is the key.  States should continue educating the people using all forms of media on the dangers, symptoms and prevention of meningitis.