Anxiety as meningitis spreads to 130 LGAs, kills 183

Nigeria has reported a total of 287 confirmed cases out of 2,707 suspected cases of meningitis, including 183 deaths, with a case-fatality ratio of 6.8 per cent.

Their cases were reported from 130 Local Government Areas in 24 states, including the Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria from From October 2022, to July 2, 2023.

This is according to the epidemiology situation of the disease released by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

Meningitis is a serious infection of the meninges, the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. It is a devastating disease and remains a major public health challenge. The disease can be caused by many different pathogens including bacteria, fungi or viruses, but the highest global burden is seen with bacterial meningitis.

Several different bacteria can cause meningitis. Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Neisseria meningitidis are the most frequent ones. N. meningitidis, causing meningococcal meningitis, is the one with the potential to produce large epidemics.

Meningococcal meningitis is transmitted from person to person through droplets of respiratory and throat secretions, usually by asymptomatic carriers. Close, prolonged contact with an infected person, or living with a carrier, facilitates the spread of the disease. The average incubation period is four days but can range between two and 10 days.

Abia, Adamawa, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Delta, Ebonyi, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Oyo, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara states reported the suspected CSM cases. Punch