IDP Camps, Prisons Prone to Meningitis Outbreaks, Says Senate

FG distributes 500,000 vaccines as death toll rises to 336
Damilola Oyedele in Abuja and Martins Ifijeh in Lagos

The Senate on Tuesday identified Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps, prisons and detention centres as locations susceptible to the current outbreak of cerebro-spinal meningitis, due to overcrowding and unhygienic conditions common in such places.

It therefore called on the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Nigerian Prison Service, and Nigeria Police to urgently take steps to prevent infections and outbreaks in their premises and camps.

This came as the federal government, through its agencies, the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHDA), and partner have distributed a total of 500,000 doses of Meningitis C vaccines to some of the affected states for immediate outbreak response vaccination.

The lawmakers also directed the Federal Ministry of Health and its agencies to work closely with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF to acquire sufficient vaccines needed to respond to the outbreak which has so far claimed 328 lives with over 2,500 cases.

This is in addition to the execution of a massive sensitisation campaign to raise awareness among the citizenry about the diseases and provide education about its symptoms and actions that can prevent infection.
Senator Gbenga Ashafa (Lagos East) who sponsored a motion on the urgent need to stop the spread of the disease, with four other senators, harped on the need for the Federal Ministry of Health and its counterparts at the state level to work together.

He recalled that five deaths have been recorded in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) with higher number of deaths in the most affected states of Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina and Niger.
“Notes that meningitis is a disease mostly associated with overcrowding, lack of ventilation and usually peak during the dry season between November and April.”

“Further notes that this recent Meningitis type is a new strand of Meningitis called Stereotype C, unlike the previous kind of Meningitis called Stereotype A, which has disappeared, hence the vaccine that provides protection for this type of meningitis is not commercially viable and needs to be acquired through a special process coordinated by the World Health Organisation (WHO),” Ashafa added.

Senator Wakili Ali (Bauchi South) also called on the federal government to explore the possibility of establishing industries that are able to quickly produce vaccines, to avoid being dependent on foreign agencies to provide such emergency vaccines.

“Our prisons and police detention centres are usually overcrowded, therefore we must take proactive measures to prevent outbreaks there, as it would be disastrous,” he said.
Senator Sabi Abdullahi (Niger North) lamented that pre-emptive measures were not taken by the relevant agencies to stop the spread, immediately the first few cases were recorded in the second week of December 2016.
“Let us remember that those mostly affected are living in overcrowded environments and we should do what we can to ease their conditions,” Abdullahi urged.

Meanwhile, the federal government, through its agencies, the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHDA), and partners have distributed a total of 500,000 doses of Meningitis C vaccines to some of the affected States for immediate outbreak response vaccination.

In a statement released by the NCDC and signed by its Technical Adviser, Communications, Dr. Lawal Bakare, it said an additional 823,970 doses of Meningitis C vaccines were expected from the United Kingdom to support vaccination activities in other affected states.

According to Bakare, the Emergency Operating Centres (EOC) will support state-wide vaccination campaign which starts in Zamfara State on April 5, 2017.
“The team will also deploy and coordinate a robust national communication and social mobilisation campaign, focused on CSM prevention and control in rural and urban areas of affected states.

“As at April 3, 2017, a total of 2,997 suspected cases of CSM have been reported in 16 States in Nigeria of which 146 have been laboratory-confirmed. Unfortunately, 336 deaths have also been recorded. We are confident that we have turned the tide, and with increasing vaccination activities, expect a reduction in number of cases.

Importantly, lessons learned from this outbreak will help the country prepare for the future,” Bakare noted.
He said the EOC has started managing the ongoing outbreak of meningitis since last Monday, as this brings the national response into an Incidence Management System, which is ensuring all activities across the country were managed using a clear command and control structure led by an Incident Manager who reports through the Chief Executive Officer of the NCDC, to the Minister of Health.

“With this new coordinating structure, the country will have a tight, multi-partner team of experts pulled from the most competent agencies focusing on outbreak control in Nigeria. The Head of Emergency Preparedness and Response at the NCDC, Dr. John Oladejo, will act as Incident Manager of the response, while experts from the FMOH, NCDC, NPHCDA, WHO, UNICEF, Africa CDC, US CDC, Medecins Sans Frontieres, AFENET, University of Maryland United States and E-Health Africa are taking key roles in different units that focus on five key components of the outbreak response. With the new team structure, all CSM outbreak response activities are now being coordinated in one place,” the statement noted.