No fewer than 960 people out of the 17,500 cases of Cerebral Spinal Meningitis reported in the northern part of the country have died in the past three months.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said this in a statement made available to the United Nations (UN) correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that 960 people of the registered cases had already died.
Describing the situation as ‘serious’’, the statement said that the states most affected were Bauchi, Gombe, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara states, adding: “The epidemic has also hit other northern states hard.’’
It said that vaccination campaigns were underway with the support of UNICEF and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
According to the statement, WHO is supporting the efforts of the Federal Ministry of Health to boost disease surveillance with technical experts on the ground since last month.
Along with its partners, WHO also said it had released 2.3 million doses of vaccines to Nigeria and that nearly 13 million doses were stockpiled for 2009.
“But more are needed for this meningitis season which will run from January through June,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, the WHO has also reported an outbreak of the disease in Niger Republic with 4,513 cases and 169 deaths.
One third of the world’s stockpiled meningitis vaccine doses have been dispatched to West Africa, where an outbreak has killed more than 1,100 people since January.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday the vaccine doses had been dispatched. Meningitis is an infection of the thin lining that surrounds the brain and spinal cord.
Infection rates in Africa tend to rise during the dry and hot period from January to May.
So far this year, the WHO said nearly 25,000 suspected cases had been reported across the “meningitis belt” that stretches from Senegal to
Ethiopia, with 85 per cent of those concentrated in Niger and Nigeria.
WHO said 300 million people in that area were at risk of the disease every year.
More than four million meningitis vaccine doses have been released to boost immunity levels in those two countries, said Fadela Chaib, a spokeswoman for the United Nations agency.
In the past week alone, Nigeria has recorded 171 meningitis-related deaths.
Most have been in the country’s northern region, where low vaccination rates against polio have also mired a 21-year effort to stamp out the crippling disease worldwide.
Some 30 people in Niger have also died in the past week from meningitis, which spreads mainly through kisses, sneezes, coughs, and in close living quarters, especially when people share cups, forks and spoons.
“We will need a large amount of vaccines. The stockpile of vaccines is a limited one,’’ said the UN offices in Geneva.
The most common symptoms of meningitis are stiff neck, high fever and sensitivity to light, confusion, headaches and vomiting.
About five to 10 per cent of patients die within 24-48 hours of the onset of symptoms, even with quick diagnosis and therapy.
Up to 20 per cent of people who survive infection with bacterial meningitis suffer brain damage, hearing loss or learning disability.
The world’s emergency vaccine stocks for meningitis are managed by the WHO and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, UNICEF and Medecins Sans Frontieres.
The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation last year approved millions of dollars, to buy more meningitis vaccines for use during epidemics in Africa.
Meningitis vaccines are made by major pharmaceutical companies, including Novartis and Wyeth.