Health: Meningitis Now In Oyo State, Attributted To Arrival Of Northerners

Dr Oyewole Lawal, Director of Public Health, Oyo State Ministry of Health, yesterday confirmed two suspected cases of Cerebro Spinal Meningitis, CSM, in Ojoo, Akinyele Local Government Area.

Lawal, who made the disclosure in Ibadan; said “Our Surveillance Committee has reported two patients in the Hausa Community of Ojoo area of Ibadan, who manifested some symptoms of CSM.

“The two suspects arrived Ibadan from the Northern part of the country and they manifested some symptoms of CSM. “We have beefed-up tracking and increased surveillance efforts in all primary healthcare centres at the local government levels, secondary healthcare level and all the private hospitals around Ojoo.

“Oyo State Government is making spirited efforts to ensure that officers at the Disease Notification and Surveillance Unit are working assiduously to monitor the suspects.

“As soon as we get the alert from the state office, we will immediately alert the Disease Notification and Surveillance officers in the 33 local government areas of the state.

“I can say that Oyo State is fully equipped and ready to prevent or curb the scourge of any outbreak of meningitis in the state,” he said.

Lawal explained that there was collaboration between the state Ministry of Health, Disease Control Unit and all the 33 local government health offices.

“We hold meetings every first week of the month where we analyse reports from these local governments.

“The local government officer concerned usually sends alerts to us at the Ministry of Health, we in turn inform the National Centre for Disease Control, a unit in the Federal Health Ministry.

“The Federal Ministry then alerts the WHO office and Presidency at the same time. So, we are on top of events in Oyo State,” he said.

According to him, the type of meningitis recorded in Oyo in 2014 is different from this year’s; the 2017 CSM is “Zero Type C”.

He said that the state government had requested for vaccines from the Federal Ministry of Health.

“This is the appropriate body responsible for ordering and procuring vaccines for the treatment, prevention and management of communicable diseases.

Vanguard