The Sokoto State Government has confirmed that the outbreak of cerebrospinal meningitis in parts of the state has claimed the lives of 33 children.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Faruk Abubakar, spoke on Wednesday during an advocacy meeting with district heads on Safety and Antimicrobial Resistance of Mass Administration of Azithromycin in Children (SARMAAN) and Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination (MNTE).
According to the commissioner, 256 suspected cases have been recorded across eight local government areas of the state since the disease resurfaced about a month ago.
The meeting was organised by the state’s Primary Healthcare Development Agency in collaboration with Sightsavers and the Chigari Foundation.
Dr Abubakar said Sabon Birni tops the list with 63 cases, followed by Wamakko (60), Shagari (51), Tambuwal (33), and Dange Shuni (26). Kebbe recorded 16 cases, while Bodinga, Gada, and Kware reported two, one, and two cases, respectively.
The health commissioner noted that most fatalities occurred within communities before patients were taken to health facilities.
To contain the outbreak, he said, the state government, in collaboration with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), established isolation centres at general hospitals in Dogo Daji and Tambuwal, with separate wards for male and female patients.
He added that while only about 20 samples have tested positive for meningitis so far, patients admitted early have responded well to treatment, with no recent deaths recorded since intensified interventions began.
The commissioner attributed this to delayed health-seeking behaviour, often driven by misconceptions that the illness has spiritual causes rather than being a medical emergency.
Veteran journalist and recipient of A.B.C Yola, Reporter of the Year Award (1997), Hassan Umar Shallpella, works with WAP as a Regional Correspondence. He was trained at Institute of Mass Communication and Technology Jos and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Training School Lagos.He was a News desk Editor and a Correspondent at the Punch newspaper and till 2019, was the Deputy Editor ofThe Scope newspaper.
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