TheCable

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says the country has recorded 961 suspected cases of cerebrospinal meningitis (CSM) and 56 deaths in 2022.

CSM, an epidemic-prone disease, is an acute inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and the spinal cord.

Some symptoms include severe headaches, sudden high fever, confusion and seizures.

The NCDC, in a statement on Wednesday, said the highest burden of the disease occurs in the “meningitis belt” of Africa, south of the Sahara Desert, adding that in Nigeria, the belt includes all 19 northern states, the federal capital territory (FCT), and some southern states.

The agency said despite significant progress in surveillance, diagnostic capacity and vaccine development over the last few years, CSM remains a public health threat in several countries worldwide.

“This year so far and ahead of the next meningitis season, Nigeria has recorded 961 suspected cases and 56 deaths of CSM in 32 States plus FCT, across 159 LGAs,” the statement reads.

“To this end, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) on behalf of Nigeria joined the global community to launch the global roadmap to defeat meningitis by 2030.

“The Defeating Meningitis by 2030 global roadmap was approved by the World Health Assembly in November 2020. Alignment and local translation of this roadmap are especially critical for Nigeria where meningitis remains one of many often- concurrent public health challenges.

“This road map sets a comprehensive vision for 2030 “Towards a world free of meningitis”, with three strategic goals: (i) eliminate epidemics of bacterial meningitis; (ii) reduce cases of vaccine-preventable bacterial meningitis by 50% and deaths by 70%; (iii) reduce disability and improve quality of life after meningitis infection of any cause.

“The NCDC with the support of partners continues to work with affected states to improve surveillance given the underreporting of cases and execute strategic prevention and control activities all in a bid to strengthen preparedness, detection, and response to meningitis outbreaks.

“The NCDC has an active National CSM Technical Working Group that has worked with partners and stakeholders to develop guidelines, checklists, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for meningitis response. We are also working on enhancing meningitis surveillance at the subnational level, especially in high-burden states.”