The Yobe State Government has confirmed a meningitis outbreak, reporting 2,510 cases of Cerebrospinal Meningitis, Type C, from December 25, 2023, to April 2024.
Unfortunately, 85 patients have died from the disease, mostly due to late or no reporting to healthcare facilities.
According to the Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr. Muhammad Lawan Gana, “All 85 deaths occurred either because patients reported very late to healthcare facilities or didn’t report at all.”
In the last 24 hours, the state recorded 28 new cases and one death. However, in the last two weeks, only two deaths have been recorded, indicating a decline in fatalities due to swift interventions.
To combat the outbreak, the government has established a temporary Emergency Operations Centre in Potiskum, designated Potiskum Specialist Hospital as a tertiary site for meningitis management, and vaccinated over 400,000 people against Type C meningitis.
Additional measures include engaging ad-hoc personnel, community sensitization, and daily review meetings with partners.
Dr. Gana debunked a social media report claiming over 200 deaths from a strange disease in the last two weeks, calling it “fake, misleading, and unfounded.”
