Nigeria has recorded 961 suspected Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) cases and 56 deaths in 32 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) this year, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has said.

Director-General of NCDC, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, in a statement on Thursday, said the organization with the support of partners continues to work with affected states to improve surveillance given the underreporting of cases.

He said the centre alsoexecuted strategic prevention and control activities to strengthen preparedness, detection and response to meningitis outbreaks.

He said: “ Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) is an epidemic-prone disease with cases reported all year round in Nigeria. The highest burden occurs in the ‘Meningitis Belt’ of Africa south of the Sahara Desert. In Nigeria, the belt includes all 19 northern states, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and some Southern States.”

He said despite significant progress in surveillance, diagnostic capacity and vaccine development over the last few years, CSM remained a priority disease and ever-present public health threat in several countries worldwide.

He said to this end, the NCDC, on behalf of Nigeria, joined the global community to launch the global roadmap to defeat meningitis by 2030.

He said the Defeating Meningitis by 2030 global roadmap was approved by the World Health Assembly in November 2020.

“Alignment and local translation of this roadmap are especially critical for Nigeria where meningitis remains one of many often-concurrent public health challenges,” he added. (Daily Trust)