29th April, 2024
Yobe State government has confirmed the death of 85 people from Cerebrospinal Meningitis in the state while 2,510 have recovered from the disease between January 2023 to April 2024.
Yobe Commissioner for Health, Dr. Lawan Gana told journalists in Damaturu that while the state government is managing the outbreak, there is a need for the donation of vaccines from the Federal Government.
He however denied claim that 200 people had been lost to the meningitis outbreak in Potiskum and Nangere local government areas of the state.
According to him, a thorough investigation by epidemiologists and the State Primary Healthcare centers discovered that the claim of 200 deaths is false
“On the Cerebrospinal Meningitis, so far 85 persons have died while 2,510 recovered from the disease. I am assuring you that, the government was able to manage the cases, but we want the federal government to donate more vaccinations to tackle disease outbreaks in the state” he said.
“The Ministry of Health before we come out to disputes, we normally do our diligence to ensure we give out the facts. Having received that report, we mandated the State Epidemiologists, supervised by the Director of Public Health they first to contact the local government health teams of the said local government areas, but found out that there was no issue of such nature” he said.
Lawan said the hot weather is contributing to outbreaks of diseases.
He therefore urged the general public to ensure they sleep in ventilated areas as well as report any suspicious to the health facilities on time.