Measles outbreak forces schools to shut down in Cross River

An outbreak of measles has been confirmed in two schools located in Akpabuyo local government areas of Cross River state, Nigeria.

The affected schools are Navy Secondary School and Penniel Primary School.

Dr. Henry Ayuk, the state commissioner for health, disclosed the outbreak and mentioned that the State Rapid Response Team had been deployed to the affected area.

Reactive vaccination for children is ongoing in the affected areas and other local government areas without reported cases.

He also said the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency is intensifying routine immunization to enhance herd immunity.

According to him, due to the outbreak, the management of the Nigeria Navy School has closed down the school and directed parents to pick up their children from the boarding facility immediately.

Parents received a message from the school informing them of the closure and the need to collect their children.

The Chairman of the Parents Teachers Association in the School, Okon Bassey, confirmed to The Nation that they received the closure message but mentioned that he was yet to get through to the school management for further details.

He expressed trust in the school management’s decision, emphasizing that he had yet to ascertain the actual situation necessitating the closure.

Measles is a highly contagious infection, especially among non-immunized children.

Meanwhile, Nigeria has become the first country to receive the new MenFive meningitis vaccine from the Vaccine Alliance-funded global stockpile, with a shipment delivered by the United Nations Children’s Fund.

This was disclosed in a press statement made available to our correspondent by Gavi on Thursday.

“The ICG approved the deployment of 1,043,377 doses of MenFive in response to Nigeria’s request,” the statement noted.

The vaccine arrived amid the outbreak of meningitis in a number of states, including Yobe and Gombe.

Last week, Yobe quarantined 206 persons after recording 20 deaths from meningitis, while Gombe reported six deaths.

Data obtained from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention noted that as of March 3, 2024, 82 local government areas in 22 states have reported 1,402 suspected cases, 101 confirmed cases, and 123 deaths with a case fatality rate of 9.4 per cent since October 2023.

The data showed that the age group mostly affected are from five to 14, followed by age 15 -29 years.

It said Yobe, Bauchi, Jigawa, Gombe and Katsina accounts for 94 per cent of cases in Nigeria.

Meningitis, according to the World Health Organisation, is transmitted from person to person through droplets of respiratory and throat secretions.

It is an infection of the meninges, the thin lining that surrounds the brain and spinal cord.

Download Edujandon.com News App QR-Code

Edujandon.com - 24/7 News Upda

Developer: Edujandon Enterprises

Price: Free