Meningitis kills 85 people in Yobe

The Yobe State Government has said meningitis has killed 85 persons between January and April following an outbreak of the disease in the state.

Dr Muhammad Lawan Gana, the state’s Commissioner for Health, stated this during a press briefing in Damaturu, the state capital at the weekend.

He refuted social media reports claiming that over 200 children died from the disease in two weeks, saying the actual fatality figure is 85.

He also said more than 2,510 patients who had contracted meningitis in the state have recovered and were discharged from hospitals.

Dr Gana said over 200 community health volunteers were deployed across Potiskum and Fika local government areas as part of the extensive efforts undertaken by his ministry to contain the disease.

He said health workers conducted active case searches, going door-to-door to identify and link cases to health facilities.

These efforts, he said, did not uncover any unusual disease outbreaks beyond the confirmed cases of meningitis.

‘‘It came to the notice of the ministry the social media story that has made the rounds about the deaths of about 200 youths in Potiskum and Nangere LGAs in the last two weeks that were associated with meningitis.

“The outbreak in December 2023 was identified as a type C Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) outbreak. 2,510 persons recovered from the disease while 85 died. These deaths were primarily attributed to late reporting or failure to report to health facilities,” he said.