The Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, said the agency had an emergency meeting in Jigawa state over the meningitis outbreak in the state.
Dr Adetifa said the Emergency Operation Centre meeting reviewed the response, identified challenges, and proffered solutions to the outbreak.
The NCDC boss disclosed this in a series of tweets via his Twitter handle on Saturday.
Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges, a thin layer of the connective tissue that covers the brain and the spinal cord. If due to an infection, this inflammation can be caused by a variety of organisms – bacteria, viruses, parasites, or fungi. Injuries and certain drugs can also cause such inflammation.
The common signs and symptoms are fever, headache, nausea and vomiting, neck stiffness, and altered conscious levels.
It can be transmitted from person to person through droplets of respiratory or throat secretions from infected people.
The outbreak of the infection in the country confirms the risk of international spread as there is an ongoing meningitis outbreak in the bordering Zinder State in Niger Republic.
Zinder region shares an international border with Jigawa State in Nigeria where the Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C outbreak is confirmed.
The World Health Organisation said the simultaneous occurrence of other epidemics, insecurity, and population displacement, all in the context of a protracted humanitarian crisis, are likely to contribute to the spread of the outbreak in other countries of the West African sub-region.
WHO assesses the risk posed by the current meningitis outbreak in Niger as high at the national level, moderate at the regional level, and low at the global level.
Meanwhile, the NCDC DG said he met with the Jigawa State Government, the Rapid Response Team, and other partners on curbing the spread of the disease in the country.
“#TodayatNCDC, I travelled to Jigawa to check on and offer support to @OfficialJGSG SMOH led by PSH & Ag HCH, Dr Salisu Muazu, SE & team, deployed @NCDCgov #RRT including @NphcdaNG led by @AmazaRahab, all working with partners to respond to the ongoing #Meningitis type C outbreak.”
