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Yobe debunks reports of 200 deaths from Meningitis, says 2,510 patients recover
Story from Sa’adatu MAINA, Damaturu
The Yobe State Government disclosed that over 2,510 patients, who came down with meningitis in the state, have recovered and were discharged from various hospitals.
The State Commissioner, Ministry of Health and Human Services, Dr. Muhammad Lawan Gana, stated this while briefing newsmen on the status of the disease in Damaturu, the state capital.
The Commissioner debunked some social media reports in the state, alleging that more than 200 children died in two weeks as a result of the disease, saying only 85 children died from February to April.
“It came to the notice of the ministry about a social media story going around regarding the deaths of about 200 youths in Potiskum and Nangere LGAs in the last two weeks that were associated with meningitis
‘‘As the Ministry of Health, before we can debunk or confirm a report, we usually do our diligence to ensure that we give out the necessary information based on facts rather than joining rumours.
‘‘Having received that report, we involved the state epidemiologist supervised by the Director of Public Health, who is responsible for all outbreaks in the state.
“We went round the state, but did not find anything like that, we also conducted our investigations, but our findings confirmed that no such occurrence existed,’’ he said.
‘‘Because of the current Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) outbreak, there are over 200 community health influencers’ promoters and supporters who spread across Potiskum and Fika LGAs, we have 178 active case search teams.
‘‘These active case search teams have a duty to go house to house, looking for cases that are in and link them to health facilities. They haven’t reported any unusual disease, so it will be very difficult for any health event to happen in any part of the state without any record.
‘‘So, on this basis, we are saying that these reports are mere rumours and not real. However, the state, on 26 December 2023, started recording an unusual Cerebrospinal Meningitis outbreak which is type C, from December up to last week, there have been a total of 2510 cases that recovered, out of which 85 cases died, and all the 85 deaths from our investigation showed that they were either reported very late to the facility or they did not report at all before passing away.
‘‘Obviously, there would be community-related deaths for people that never reported at all to the health facility, but they are not up to the number that was stated,’’ he added.
He said the state government had taken proactive measures to curb the spread of the disease in the state, especially in the frontline LGAs, including setting up a temporary Emergency Operations Centre in Potiskum manned by the state, local governments and partners, a referral treatment center in YSSH Potiskum, and satellite ones in GHs and some PHCs.
He added that the state government and its partners made provisions for drugs used for treatments, meaning treatment is completely free, and so is community sensitisation and engagement.
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