Gombe kicks off meningitis vaccination campaign

Governor of Gombe State Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya launched a mass vaccination campaign against Cerebro Spinal Meningitis (CSM) on Tuesday in an effort to quickly contain the disease that has recently wreaked havoc in the Nafada Local Government Area. 

The flag-off event marked a noteworthy advancement in Gombe State's unwavering dedication to public health. By working together and taking preventative action, the government works to lessen the threat that spinal meningitis poses to the health of its residents. 

The Gombe State Deputy Governor, Manassah Daniel Jatau, spoke on behalf of the Governor during the ceremony at the Emir's Palace in Nafada. He stated that the state government has increased efforts to protect the health and welfare of its people because it recognises the critical importance of this initiative.

According to him, “Earlier in February this year cases of severe headache, fever, leg pain and convulsions were observed to be on the increase in Nafada General Hospital through the routine surveillance system, Cerebrospinal fluid samples were collected and confirmed to be positive for cerebrospinal meningitis type “C” on the 18th of February 2024?.

He added that “The outbreak later spread to the neighbouring LGAs of Funakaye and Dukku. As of 28th March 2024, where 302 suspected cases of the disease were line-listed, 275 were treated and discharged, and 26 died of the illness as recorded by our surveillance system”.

Source