The Gombe State government has confirmed six deaths among the 95 suspected cases of Cerebro Spinal Meningitis (CSM) in the state. The state documented suspected cases of the disease in Nafada and Funakaye Local Government Areas.
Dr Habu Dahiru, the Commissioner for Health, announced this during a news conference in Gombe on Thursday. He mentioned that the ministry had sent a medical team to Nafada to control the disease following reports of cases with symptoms suggestive of CSM.
Noting that out of the 95 people admitted, 29 samples were taken; only two from Funakaye LGA tested positive, and Eighty-four individuals were treated and discharged, with six still under observation.
Dahiru clarified that the six deaths recorded did not meet the criteria to declare the disease an outbreak, as they have not reached the CSM threshold of 10 confirmed cases in a population of 100,000 within one week.
He hinted that the state, working with partners, has initiated an Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) with the involvement of the WHO, UNICEF, and NCDC for suspected CSM cases and also eliminated the possibility of Lassa fever.
According to him, the EOC is saddled with the responsibility to control the spread of the detected CSM cases in Funakaye. The state and local government Rapid Response Team (RRT) have also been mobilized to collaborate with traditional rulers in the affected areas to raise public awareness about CSM prevention measures.
The commissioner stated that the ministry had provided drugs and consumables for the free management of suspected cases, including sample collection for transmission to the NCDC laboratory in Abuja.
