Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Vaccination can prevent meningitis

An outbreak of meningitis in several states of Nigeria has killed at least 140 people, officials say.

It has been reported over the last week in six states and has so far infected more than 1,000 people, the Abuja Centre for Disease Control says.

Meningitis causes an acute inflammation of the outer layers of the brain and spinal cord.

The current outbreak is the worst in Nigeria since 2009 when it killed at least 156 people.

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The disease is spreading amidst fears it could be out of control if refugee camps, prisons and police cells become affected through crowds, the BBC's Chris Ewokor in Abuja says.

Vaccination is an effective way of preventing against meningitis.

However, a new strain, which may have been imported from a neighbouring country is now prevalent in Nigeria and requires a different type of vaccine, Nigerian Minister of Health Isaac Adewole said.

The seasonal outbreak has been attributed to cold nights, dusty winds and dry weather, which were aggravated by traditional beliefs, poor hygiene, and overpopulation, our reporter says.

Nigeria lies on the meningitis belt, stretching from the Sahel region to the Horn of Africa, where outbreaks occur regularly.</s>Although meningitis can be prevented via vaccination, Nigeria still have not developed a particular vaccine to control the new strain. (Photo : Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

According to officials, at least 140 people have been killed in a meningitis outbreak in six states in Nigeria, International Business Times reported.

Aside from the number of deaths, more than 1,000 people have been infected. The report added that the outbreak was caused by a new strain of Cerebro Spinal Meningitis (CSM), which is not common in Nigeria. State of high alert declared by the ministry since March 20.

The current outbreak is the worst in the country since 2009 when at least 156 people died. BBC noted that although meningitis can be prevented via vaccination, Nigeria still has not developed a particular vaccine to control the new strain.



Local Media said the Commissioner for Health, Alhaji Balarabe Kakale, is leaning on the possibility of closing schools to prevent the spread of the disease.



"This is to save more lives of the people of the state, although the cases are reducing, while the people are now reporting the suspected cases to the health facilities," Kakale, said during the ongoing sensitization campaign in Dange-Shuni Local Government Area of Sokoto State, where 23 people have already died due to the outbreak. Zamfara, Katsina and Sokoto account for 89% of the deaths brought by the outbreak, Outbreak News Today reported.



Aside from the dry weather and dusty winds, the outbreak had been intensified by traditional beliefs of the Nigerians that resulted to poor hygiene and uncontrolled population. Kakale is currently doing rounds in Nigeria to spread awareness and correct information about meningitis.

"We are hereby again, calling on the people of the state that the cases of meningitis should not be linked to witchcraft or sorcery. Rather, all suspected cases should be reported to the hospitals as the state government had stocked adequate drugs and medicament for the free treatment of the patients," he added.

Meningitis is an inflammation of the layers of the brain and spinal cord. CSM is classified as a medical emergency. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) about 10 to 15 percent of patients diagnosed with CSM die.</s>At least 140 people have died in several states in Nigeria due to an outbreak of meningitis, officials have said. The current outbreak is the worst recorded in the country since 2009, when at least 156 people died.

More than 80 of the deaths occurred in north-western Zamfara State. At least 23 people died in Sokoto State, where a state of high alert was declared by the ministry of health on 20 March.

More than 1,000 people have been infected, amid fears the death toll could increase if the epidemic reaches crowded areas such as refugee camps.

It is believed the new strain of Cerebro Spinal Meningitis (CSM) is not common in Nigeria and was imported from Niger Republic, Minister of Health Isaac Adewole told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). Thus new vaccines are required to immunise people.

Earlier in March, Adewole said a team of epidemiologists had been deployed to address the issue, stressing that the ministry was working hard to tackle the epidemic.

The minister appealed to Nigerians to report all cases of unusual fevers to health facilities and to avoid overcrowding.

"When people are coughing let them be referred to facilities, open windows and ensure that we do not get infected easily, Adewole said earlier in March, according to local media.

"Children are more susceptible and when they have unusual fever they should also be referred to the hospital."

Meningitis is an inflammation of the layers of the brain and spinal cord. Infection is the most common cause of meningitis, with viral or bacterial pathogens transmitted via saliva.

Bacterial meningitis is deadly in about one case out of ten, and life-long sequelae occur in one in five survivors. More on meningitis here.</s>ABUJA: An outbreak of meningitis in Nigeria has killed 269 people in recent weeks, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control said, as Africa's most populous country and aid organizations attempt to tackle the surge in infections.

As of Monday, 1,828 suspected cases of meningitis were reported with 269 deaths in 15 of the country's 36 states, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said on Twitter late on Tuesday.

The center said on its website that 33 people died of meningitis in 2016.

More than 2,000 people died from an outbreak of the disease in Nigeria in 2009, with basic healthcare limited in rural parts of the country, where most people live on less than US$2 a day, despite the country's huge oil resources.

Meningitis is the inflammation of tissue surrounding the brain and spinal cord which can be caused by viral or bacterial infections. It spreads mainly through kisses, sneezes, coughs and in close living quarters.

The NCDC said it was now working with the World Health Organisation, the U.N. Children's Fund and Medecins Sans Frontieres, also known as Doctors Without Borders, to try to control the outbreak.</s>Meningitis has killed 269 people in Nigeria in recent weeks, the country's Center for Disease Control said, as Africa's most populous country and aid organizations try to tackle the surge in infections.

As of Monday, 1,828 suspected cases of meningitis had been reported, with deaths recorded in 15 of the country's 36 states, the center said late Tuesday on Twitter.

The center said on its website that 33 people died of meningitis in 2016.

More than 2,000 people died from an outbreak of the disease in Nigeria in 2009, with basic health care limited in rural parts of the country. Most rural residents live on less than $2 a day, despite the country's huge oil resources.

Meningitis is the inflammation of tissue surrounding the brain and spinal cord, which can be caused by viral or bacterial infections. It spreads mainly through kisses, sneezes and coughs, and in close living quarters.

The center said it was working with the World Health Organization, the U.N. children's fund and Doctors Without Borders to try to control the outbreak.</s>ABUJA: Nearly 270 people, most of them children, have died in the past five months during the latest meningitis outbreak to hit Nigeria, public health officials said on Wednesday.

“Presently we have 1,828 suspected cases… and we have 269 deaths in about 15 states,” Olubunmi Ojo of the National Centre for Disease Control told local television.

At least five northern states—Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger—and the Federal Capital Territory have been hit hard and have crossed the threshold for an epidemic, she added.

Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, director of disease control at the federal ministry of health in Abuja, said those six states accounted for 1,090 infected people and 154 deaths.

“Zamfara State alone recorded 590 cases, out of which 29 people have died,” he told Agence France-Presse.

Laboratory tests have confirmed that the disease was of a new Type C strain, he added.

The World Health Organization said on March 24 that children aged five to 14 were the most affected age group in this latest epidemic, accounting for about half of all reported cases.

Nigeria lies in the so-called “meningitis belt” of sub-Saharan Africa, stretching from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east, where outbreaks of the disease are a regular occurrence.

The country and neighboring Niger were both badly hit by meningitis outbreaks in 2015, when over 13,700 people were infected in six months, with more than 1,100 deaths.

Meningitis is caused by different types of bacteria, six of which can cause epidemics. It is transmitted between people through coughs and sneezes, and facilitated by cramped living conditions and close contact.

The illness causes acute inflammation of the outer layers of the brain and spinal cord, with the most common symptoms being fever, headache and neck stiffness. AFP</s>Bamidele Fashube, ABUJA, Nigeria. (GVE) – Four children has reportedly died as a result of an outbreak of Cerebro Spinal Meningitis, CSM, the Abuja Municipal Area Council, AMAC, Nigeria, confirmed.

Confirming the incident, the Head of Health Department in the council, Modupe Adeyinka, said the case at Durumi was a suspected development which was yet to be confirmed clinically or scientifically.

According to her, four children were reported dead, three of which resulted from the symptoms and the other one not yet confirmed.

“Immediately this report came to us in AMAC, we informed our partners; FCT PHCDB, FCT Public Health Department and WHO, and immediately swung into action.

“The AMAC Disease Control Coordinator and Disease Surveillance Officers went to verify the incidents and do a thorough surveillance,” she said.

As a result of the outbreak, she said the public health educators, social mobilisers and health personnel have embarked on community based education campaign on meningitis.

According to her,they were also enlightened about the prevention and management as well as positive behavioural change to prevent spread of infection.

“We actually started this proactively last week in all our wards especially at the IDP camps and slums as soon as we got the news of an outbreak in Niger state.

“We also immediately created vaccination post at the Chief’s Palace to vaccinate the populace with CSM Vaccine manned by trained health personnel,’’ said the official.

Adeyinka advised residents to take precautions against the outbreak of the disease and make sure they do not sleep in a crowded room.

Consequently, she noted that the vaccination is still on in Durumi 1, 2 and 3 areas, adding that it will be extended to all health camps and in government facilities from March 29.

She explained that bacterial meningitis was one of the most feared infectious diseases of children and epidemic meningitis could have a devastating impact on the entire populace.

“They can be transmitted by coughing, sneezing or close contact. It easily spread when people live in close quarters; being in small spaces increase the chance of exposure.’’

Adeyinka said children under the age of five are at increased risk of viral meningitis.

She further urged residents to embrace the vaccination which are available at health camps alongside poliomyelitis immunisation campaign.

Besides, she urged residents to avoid overcrowded places, and ensure personal and communal hygiene.

“There is no way to know if you have bacterial or viral meningitis just by judging how you feel. Your doctor will need to perform tests to determine which type you have,” she said.</s>ABUJA, March 28 (Reuters) - Nigeria's military is "ransacking" territory it said it has recaptured from Boko Haram in recent months in a search for its elusive leader, the country's defence minister said on Tuesday.

The Nigerian military has said on multiple occasions that it killed Abubakar Shekau, leader of one of two branches of the jihadist group, only for the announcement to be swiftly followed by video denials from someone saying he is Shekau.

"He is on the run so he may be hiding in one of the enclaves of Sambisa forest," Mansur Dan Ali, minister of defence, told reporters in Abuja.

"We shall be patrolling and ransacking that forest for the whereabouts of Shekau," said Ali.

Earlier this month a man identifying himself as Shekau appeared in a video in which he claimed responsibility for a spate of bombings in and around the northeastern city of Maiduguri.

Large areas of the northeast, particularly in Borno state, remain under threat from Boko Haram as suicide bombings and gun attacks have increased in the area since late last year.

Ali said the military was committed to finding Shekau.

"We will not relax, we are on him," he said.

Boko Haram split last year, with one faction led by Shekau operating from the Sambisa Forest and the other, allied to Islamic State and led by Abu Musab al-Barnawi, based in the Lake Chad region.

Nigeria's army said in December it had pushed Boko Haram out of its Sambisa forest stronghold in an operation to reclaim territory lost to the Islamist insurgency since 2009.

The militant group had controlled a swathe of land in northeast Nigeria around the size of Belgium at the end of 2014 but was shifted from most of that territory early last year by Nigerian troops, aided by soldiers from neighbouring countries.

Boko Haram has killed more than 15,000 people and displaced more than two million during its seven-year insurgency to create an Islamic state governed by a strict interpretation of sharia law in Africa's most populous nation. (Reporting by Felix Onuah; Writing by Paul Carsten; Editing by Alexis Akwagyiram and Julia Glover)
Over the last week, a meningitis outbreak has killed at least 140 people in Nigeria.