FG Issues Health Advisory on Cerebrospinal Meningitis

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The federal government has alerted Nigerians of a possible outbreak of Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) in some parts of the country.
The government said it was working through the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) to prevent, detect, and respond to cases of Meningitis.

According to NCDC, Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) occurred when there was an acute inflammation of the covering of the brain and the spinal cord.
It said CSM was an epidemic-prone disease with cases reported all year round in Nigeria.
However, weather conditions like the dry season that comes with dust, winds, cold nights, and frequent upper respiratory tract infections often increased the risk of infection, especially with crowding and poor ventilation.

The centre, however, said it had deployed a Rapid Response Team (RRT) to Jigawa and Bauchi States to investigate report of rising cases and provide medical and laboratory commodities to aid the state’s response.

In a statement by the Director General of the NCDC, Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa, the centre said Nigeria recorded 2,765 suspected and 303 confirmed cases in 2022 and 2023 with 190 deaths across 140 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in 30 states including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The centre said that the highest burden of CSM in Nigeria usually occurred in the “Meningitis Belt” which included all 19 states in the Northern region, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and some southern states such as Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Ekiti, Ogun, Ondo and Osun.