Chijioke Iremeka
To prevent the outbreak of Cerebrospinal Meningitis in the country in 2024, Nigerians must embrace hygiene, have access to water, and also get vaccinated against the infection, health experts have said.
The physicians warned that the country might witness a rise in cases of CM especially in the disease’s hotspots if preventive measures are not consistently adhered to.
According to the World Health Organisation, meningitis is a serious infection of the meninges, the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. It is a devastating disease and a major public health challenge, but vaccines can help to prevent meningococcal disease.
The experts noted that seasonal outbreaks are common during the hot, dry, and windy weather.
They, however, said CM outbreak and spread would also depend on the level of utilisation of these available preventive and protective measures.
The health practitioners also disclosed that climate change and temperature may be important factors that may affect the transmission and spread of the infection in the year.
WHO’s report on meningitis in Nigeria shows that from October 1, 2022, to April 16, 2023, there were a total of 1686 suspected cases, 532 confirmed cases, and 124 deaths (CFR: 7%) reported from 81 local government areas in 22 out of 36 states, including the Federal Capital Territory.
The WHO’s report indicates that males account for 57 percent (961) of total suspected cases, while the highest proportion of reported cases is among children aged between one and 15 years.
“Jigawa State accounts for 74 percent (1252) of all suspected cases, and this state borders the Zinder region in Niger, where a meningitis outbreak has been reported since October 2022.
“A total of 481 cerebrospinal fluid samples were collected from patients in 18 states. Out of these samples, 247 tested positive for bacterial infection by PCR test. Among the positive cases, 226 (91%) were caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C, while 13 cases (5.4%) were caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, and only one case (0.4%) by Haemophilus influenzae,” WHO added.
Speaking exclusively with PUNCH Healthwise in different interviews, experts said if Nigeria does not put measures in place to fight the disease, the 2024 figure might be higher than that of 2023, saying that poor availability of water and overcrowded environment are contributory factors to the incidence of CM going by empirical study.
The physicians said that if Nigeria does not pay attention to other factors that cause meningitis, the 124 deaths and seven percent case fatality ratio recorded in the previous year would be higher in the new year.
An Epidemiologist and Professor of Public Health at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Adebayo Onajole, said if the country does not pay attention to other factors that cause CM, Nigeria should be expecting more than 1686 suspected cases recorded between November 2022 and April 2023.
He said, “Another factor is immunisation. We need to advocate for immunization as a preventive and protective measure for people. Awareness should be created so that people will know about the diseases that come during this period so that they can be aware and prepared. This would help to moderate their activities.
“For instance, overcrowding is a problem and a factor. When there is heat in the house, people tend to gather in a particular place to receive fresh air, especially under a tree. At this point, if there is anybody with an index case, it would spread through other people there. But when they are aware, they will know what to do.
“If we put the preventive and protective measures in place, CM may not have a high incidence in the country this year. Access to treatment has a lot to do with the spread and control of CM.
Also, the way the media spread the information would help in alerting people about the diseases that occurred during this period.
“There is a vaccine and we need to tell the people that vaccination will reduce the incidence of CM. There are children and adult vaccines. For adults traveling to the CM hotspots, they can get vaccinated, but children have been put in the national vaccination program by the government. Also, without the availability of water, there will be problems.”
A Public Health Physician and Medical Director, at Federal College of Education, Akoka Medical Centre, Lagos, Dr Rotimi Adesanya, said, “If we put all the necessary surveillance in place and practice good hygiene, with immunisation, CM will not spread to any part of the country if it breaks.
“Also, we need to increase our funding to national immunisation programs because that would help to protect people against it. We need to make our Primary Health Centres work and increase the staffing of the facilities.
“During harmattan and dry seasons like this, the weather encourages it to spread, overcrowding and poverty are factors. I also feel that the government has been working and putting measures in place to deal with this.
“However, the weather has not been as bad as in the previous years. So we may not record any outbreaks over what was recorded last time.”
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