Measles, Meningitis Ravage Northern States

By Ibrahim Hassan,Dipo Laleye, Segun Olaniyan, Mohammed Sabiu, Ishola Michael, Ibrahim Dabugur, Kola Oyelere and Adamu Amadu

A sick child NOT less than 147 people in Niger State have died in the last two months as a result of attacks of measles and chicken pox. Over 1, 400 others are still critically ill at various hospitals in the state as a result of the attack. Most of those involved are children between one and 15 years, while in some isolated cases, adults are also affected.

The measles and chicken pox outbreak, according to investigations, is more pronounced in Mashegu Rijau and Magama Local Government Areas. According to findings, much pressure is already being put on the health facilities in the state as a result of the large number of people seeking medical attention.

The state government has dispatched experts and medical equipment to the affected local government areas for the treatment of the patients. Some experts operating under the aegis of Doctors Without Borders International Organisation have been brought into the state to assist in controlling the menace. The doctors have set up camps in the three local government areas where the outbreak is severe and giving free treatment to the patients.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Yahaya Vatsa, who confirmed the story blamed the seriousness of the incident this year on global warming and advised the people to sleep in well-ventilated houses to stop further spread of the disease. In Katsina State, about 3,064 cases of measles have been recorded across the state. The Director of Diseases Control, State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Halliru Idris, who disclosed this to ST in Katsina said out of the number, 165 lives had been lost.

Dr. Idris averred that areas worst hit by the epidemic include Katsina, Zango, Malumfashi and Funtua Local Government Areas of the state. The director, who attributed the outbreak to the refusal of parents to take their children for routine immunisation, however, explained that stringent measures had been taken by government to curtail the disease in the state.

According to him, the Katsina State Government has set up an emergency health response committee, adding that the staff had been trained on epidemic-prone diseases to control and contain the situation. Dr. Halliru Idris further revealed that 66,000 vaccines had been distributed to the affected areas, while additional drugs had been supplied to strategic reserves in the state.

However, when Saturday Tribune visited the Katsina General Hospital, most parents of victims of the disease refused to make comments but were grateful for the prompt action taken by government to treat their wards. Also, a nurse at the hospital told ST that most patients had been treated and discharged, and the few remaining would soon be discharged. He, noted that most cases of measles treated were caused by lack of good hygiene, as most parents had refused to observe the basics, by keeping their environments clean.

In Zamfara State, parts of Gusau, Zurni and Kaura Namoda Local Government Areas have also experienced an outbreak of measles. Fifty children between the ages of five and 10 were said to have been hospitalised. However, as at the time of filing this report, most of the children had been discharged.

Speaking on the endemic, the Public Relations Officer of the state’s National Programme on Immunisation (NPI), Sani Jangebe, remarked that health personnel were immediately sent to the affected areas and they were directed to go from house to house to immunise children affected by the disease and those that were not affected.

Malam Jangebe appealed to parents to allow their children to be immunised “as it would prevent their children from contracting the six killer-diseases.” Also there has been reported cases of meningitis outbreak in Bakura Local Government Area. Investigations conducted revealed that 100 people in the area have been hospitalised in Bakura General Hospital. Mostly affected were children and women. Speaking on the steps taken by his council to address the situation, the Chairman of Bakura Local Government, Alhaji Sarkin Pawa Dambo, disclosed that his council had approved the purchase of drugs worth N 300, 000.00.

“Apart from that, we are appealing to the people not to pack themselves in a room. They should instead sleep in rooms with enough space to avoid meningitis attack. In Bauchi State, over 200 children, mostly under the age of five years have been admitted and are currently receiving treatment at the Emergency Paediatric Ward of the Specialist Hospital, Bauchi, following the outbreak of measles in some parts of the state.

However, the state government has been providing free medical treatment to the citizens and drugs to treat patients under the age of five, and appealing to the Federal Government to provide more drugs, as the quantity left was not enough. Hauwa Abiodun Yuguda, wife of the state governor, who is also the founder of Challenge Your Disabilities Initiative (CYDI) promised to liase with government to provide all that may be needed in the hospitals.

In Yobe State, the hot weather has caused an outbreak of Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis (CSM). For instance, no fewer than 13 people were reported dead and 217 admitted following the outbreak of the disease in Potiskum Local Government Area of Yobe State and its environs, being the most populous town in the state. The number has continued to rise with daily admissions in the hospital.

Records in the General Hospital, Potiskum indicate that since the outbreak of the killer-disease, 217 infected persons have been admitted while 13 lives have been lost . The Principal Medical Officer (PMO), Dr. D. M. Muna, attributed the spread of the disease to ignorance by the people, adding " Most of the out-patients brought to our hospital were from the rural areas. They live under unhygienic conditions and take polluted water. They don’t know that this disease affects hearing, vision and leads to mental impairment." Poverty, he stated, was another factor contributing to the spread of the disease as most of the people lived in congested and over-populated houses.

Muna, however, advised the people of the area to immediately report any outbreak of the disease to the nearest health centre for prompt attention. He expressed concern over the delay in taking victims to the hospital. He also blamed some health workers for not taking their responsibilities seriously such as not addressing any reported cases in time, drawing the attention of the stakeholders to embarking on vigorous enlightenment programme to arrest the situation.

An outbreak of measles and Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis since the beginning of this year in many local government areas of Jigawa State is still claiming children’s lives in the state.
Investigation conducted reveals that cases of Cerebro- Spinal Meningitis (CSM) have drastically gone down in the affected areas. Communities in Birnin Kudu and Dutse Local Government Areas are worse hit by the measles epidemic while communities in Hadejia and Auyo Local Government Areas are mostly affected by the CSM outbreak.

The state Ministry of Health has already set up a rapid response committee with a view to containing the outbreak and assessing the extent of the outbreak of each disease while also proffering long-term solutions to them. Though hospitals in Dutse and Birnin Kudu are inundated by patients from across the state, the state Ministry of Health was not able to confirm the casualty figure as the Commissioner in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Abubakar Tafida, was said to be out with teams trying to assess and contain the outbreak.

Sources at the ministry said that the death toll from both outbreaks run into several dozens. The source also revealed that the state government has directed the immediate release of drugs and other vaccines for distribution to the affected communities. Another source in the ministry however disclosed that the outbreak is not as serious as reported. “The government is on top of the situation and the outbreak of measles and CSM is not as serious as it is being reported.”