Death toll rises to 215 in Zamfara, says SSG

Prof. Abdullahi Shinkafi, Secretary to the State Government in Zamfara, says meningitis outbreak has claimed no fewer than 215 lives in the last two months in the state.

Shinkafi made the disclosure at a news briefing in Gusau on Tuesday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Shinkafi is also the Chairman of the state’s Committee for the Control of Meningitis.

Shinkafi said that the committee was mobilising communities in the state, through the Local Government Meningitis Control Committees, to create more awareness on the disease.

He said that additional 1,864 cases had been recorded in the state since the outbreak of the disease.

According to him, already 1,344 people have been trained as vaccinators and they have been divided into 224 groups of six people each.

He said that they would carry out vaccination throughout the state.

Shinkafi said that the state government, which required three million dosages of meningitis vaccines, only got 300,000 from the Federal Government.

He said, “We have to carefully prioritise the vaccination.”

Shinkafi said that the vaccination would be concentrated on high density areas including key public institutions and schools to curtail further spread.