Daily Trust - the online edition

Recent reports on the fresh outbreak of cerebro-spinal meningitis (CSM) in parts of the country are indeed
an embarrassing development. Statistics released by the Federal Government shows that since the outbreak in January, a record of over 400 people have lost their lives in 16 states of the federation. With statistics of 1,859 infections as at last week, the disease is continuing to spread like wildfire in most parts of Northern Nigeria where weather report is also alarming. Also, unofficial reports put the infections record at over 4,000 and death toll at over 500 nationwide.

Presenting detailed analysis of the situation, the Head of Division, Epidemiology and Health Emergency Response of the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Jide Coker, also disclosed that Sero Type A formed the bulk of the 1,859 infections in 91 local government areas across the country. Not withstanding these frightening records, however, he said the Federal Government only distributed one million doses of CSM vaccines to curb the trend.

Cerebro-spinal meningitis, experts say, always lead to severe swelling in the brain and spinal cord which in the long run results in the stiffening of the neck. It also causes brain and kidney damage and hearing loss. All these, medical experts further explained, are caused by lack of adequate ventilation mostly in crowded environments or houses built with few or no windows. In Yobe State where 190 people were so far confirmed killed by meningitis and measles, the situation seems to have gone out of control as the state Commissioner of Health, Alhaji Kaigama Umar, was quoted to have said. "Sadly, despite the measures put in place such as vaccination, early detection and treatment, I am deeply touched to say that we lost 190 persons to meningitis and measles," he said.

This is not the first time the country is recording such devastating cases of meningitis and other child-killer diseases. In a decade, hardly a year passes without report of an outbreak of these killer diseases but those in authority have consistently failed to curb the trend at all levels. Eight years ago, the outbreak of meningitis and cholera epidemic led to the ban placed on Nigerian pilgrims from travelling to Saudi Arabia to perform hajj, and since then, the Saudi authorities on a regular basis have always forced Nigerian pilgrims on arrival at the King Abdul’Aziz International Airport, Jeddah to take anti-CSM drugs before entry into the city. And this embarrassing phenomenon will continue until our leaders show commitment in the fight against these killer diseases and also ensure that our healthcare delivery system is totally overhauled for good.

Reports have revealed that vaccines currently being administered on meningitis patients are either fake or have expired. According to health experts, vaccines for diseases such as CSM, cholera, polio and tuberculosis are supposed to be preserved and stored within a specified temperature level before being put to use. Therefore, failure to adhere to such instruction leads to the administration of substandard vaccines on patients; this increases the death toll of victims.

Another factor militating against the success of the anti-CSM crusade is the general ignorance of the public on how to tackle the disease. There is also the problem of poor housing policy in the country. Houses in most rural communities are built haphazardly with little or no provision for wide windows and as such not habitable especially during the hot season. Therefore, to curb this phenomenon, it is imperative especially for states and local governments to sensitise the general public on the danger of living in houses that lack ventilation. Also, the general public should be enlightened on ways to avoid crowded environment where diseases such as CSM can easily be contracted.

As a matter of urgency, government must come out with a housing policy that is not limited to the urban centres. Owners of residential buildings either in urban or rural centres must be compelled to ensure that standard is not compromised. Similarly, there is need to upgrade existing drug storage facilities in health institutions across the country. This will assist to guarantee effective preservation of vaccines whose efficacy can easily be lost if not properly stored within the recommended temperature level.