By Hassan Zaggi
The Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Dr. Jide Idris, has advised state governments across the country to put structures in place to prevent the outbreak of seasonal diseases such as lassar fever and meningitis in their various states.
He gave the advice at a media briefing in Abuja, on Tuesday.
He also advised the heads of Nigerian Correctional Centres across the country to also ensure their centres are structured in such a way that the transmission of diseases is reduced drastically.
Dr. Jide disclosed that the NCDC is always prepared to support the states with the needed materials to prevent the outbreak of diseases in their states.
He noted that even though Cerebrospinal Meningitis is 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 increase the risk of infection, especially with crowding and poor ventilation.
According to him: “The highest burden of CSM in Nigeria occurs in the “Meningitis Belt” which includes 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, Osun).
“In 2023/2024, Nigeria recorded 4915 suspected and 380 confirmed cases with 361 deaths across 174 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in 24 States including the Federal Capital Territory. A total of 2, 281, 750 doses of Men5CV- ACWYX in Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa and Yobe covering 134 wards in the 13 LGAs. The campaign targeted individuals aged 1-29years, comprising 70% of the population.”
He expressed concern that despite significant progress in surveillance, diagnostic capacity, and vaccination over the last few years, CSM remains a priority disease and ever-present public health threat in Nigeria with annual outbreaks in high-burden states that present a challenge for people, health systems, economies, and communities.
The NCDC Director General noted that meningitis virus spreads through direct person-to-person contact, including droplets from the nose and throat of infected persons; close and prolonged contact with an infected individual.
On the possible symptoms of the disease, Dr. Jide said: “CSM initially presents with fever, headache, nausea and vomiting, photophobia (pain on looking at bright lights), neck stiffness, and altered conscious levels. It may be more difficult to observe these signs in younger children, but irritability, poor feeding, and inactivity are common.”
Speaking on Lassa fever, the NCDC Director General said that Nigeria has continued to see a steady increase in the number of states reporting Lassa fever cases.
This rise, according to him, is due, in part, to improved surveillance, better community awareness, environmental degradation from climate change, and other harmful human activities.
He explained that in 2022, Nigeria reported 1,067 confirmed cases across 27 states and 112 LGAs. In 2023, 28 states and 114 LGAs reported confirmed cases, with 9,155 suspected cases, 1,270 confirmed cases, and 227 deaths. As of October 13, 2024, 8,569 suspected cases, 1,035 confirmed cases, and 174 deaths have been reported across 28 states and 129 LGAs.
He, however, advised healthcare workers across the country to always practice standard infection prevention and control practices, i.e., using gloves and other appropriate personal protective equipment while handling patients or providing care for an ill patient and maintain a high index of suspicion for Lassa fever, i.e., be vigilant and consider a diagnosis of Lassa fever when seeing patients presenting with febrile illness.
“Healthcare providers should report all suspected cases of Lassa fever to their local government Disease Surveillance and Notification Officer to ensure prompt diagnosis, referral, and early commencement of public health actions,” he stressed.
Dr. Jide also advised members of the public to always keep your environment clean, block all holes in your house to prevent the entry of rats and other rodents, cover your dustbins and dispose of refuse properly and that communities should set up dump sites far from their homes to reduce the chances of the entry of rodents into their homes.
Other preventive measures, he noted, include safely store food items such as rice, garri, beans, corn/maize, etc., in tightly sealed or well-covered containers, avoid drying food stuff outside on the ground or roadside, where it is at risk of contamination, discourage bush burning. This destroys the homes and food sources of rodents and drives them to migrate from the bushes to human residences to find food and eliminate rats in homes and communities by setting rat traps and other appropriate and safe means.
