Six students die in meningitis outbreak in north-west Nigeria

Six students of the Kebbi State University of Science and Technology, Aliero, Nigeria, have died following an outbreak of cerebrospinal meningitis, or CSM.

Of the six, two were in their final year of study and one was a first-year, according to sources at the university, who asked not to be named. Details about the other three students could not be established.

The Kebbi State government has confirmed the outbreak has claimed 56 lives in three major local government areas of the state, namely Jega, Gwandu and Aliero.

Dr Shehu Nuhu-Koko, the permanent secretary of the ministry of health, speaking on behalf of Alhaji Yunusa Ismail, the state commissioner for health, at a media conference last week (19 February) in Birnin Kebbi, the state capital, said that there were a total of 653 suspected cases.

Mustapha Mansur Ango, the spokesperson for the university, told University World News that, when cases were noticed on the university campus, the management immediately constituted a special committee headed by Professor Balarabe Adamu Isah, the school’s provost of the college of health sciences, to conduct a thorough investigation of the outbreak protocols.

The school also collaborated with health stakeholders such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, or UNICEF, Médecins Sans Frontières, and other health-sector experts.

Official reports received from the committee and health department said people had symptoms of fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and associated vomiting and dizziness.

Disagreement over university’s responses

Officials have attributed the outbreak at the university to overcrowding and poor sanitation.

Several students told University World News they blamed the institution for not being proactive and coming up with preventive and precautionary measures on time before the outbreak, which appeared to have started as far back as January.

They also faulted the school for a lack of official communication.

“It is so unfortunate that we didn’t receive any official communication from the university – not even on measures to be taken. They didn’t address us at all, but just left us in fear and to sort ourselves out. This is at a time when students were dying. As of today, we’ve just lost another student,” Tijani Ahmed Owolabi, a masters student, told University World News.

However, Mansur Ango the spokesperson, denied these allegations, noting that the management was proactive before the first death occurred, which was on 3 March.

Ibrahim Musa, a final-year architecture student, who lost a peer to the outbreak, recounted how the incident has left students scared and struggling to concentrate on their academic work.

“All of us are now thinking about survival because it is only a living and healthy person that can attend lectures or pursue education,” Musa said, noting that many of his friends had already left campus for safety.

Musa further stated that the student community is currently demanding a temporary closure of school until stability is restored.

While speaking to University World News, Imam Faisal, the president of the Students’ Union, said the union has communicated students’ concerns to the management, and he believed they would be implemented.

Faisal said he has been having sleepless nights since the outbreak of CSM, as some of the students died in his presence.

Professor Yahaya Kaka the dean of student affairs, said the outbreak actually started in the town where many students reside and the disease was carried into the school.

“We have students living in the school hostels … others are living inside the town and mingle with the residents of Aliero. Of the six recorded deaths, four were residing off-campus and only two were living on-campus.”

Kaka maintained that the management has resisted pressure and repeated calls by the student community to close the university, citing fear of mass transmission of the disease as a solid reason.

“Based on professional health advice, we would not close down the institution, to prevent those students that might have been infected from transmitting it to other members of the public. We’ve converted the school clinic to an isolation centre to take care of the victims,” Kaka said in an interview, explaining the university has sensitised the students on preventive measures, and vaccination of the university community against the disease is ongoing.

CSM is hghly contagious

Dr Rilwanu Bello Tambuwal, a medical expert at the department of community medicine, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, said the outbreak of meningitis is concerning because it can spread rapidly in crowded environments such as universities and can lead to severe complications, including death, if not promptly controlled.

Tambuwal noted that, while bacterial meningitis is highly contagious, as it spreads through respiratory droplets from coughing, sneezing, or close contact, especially in the dry season, he said vaccination, as a measure adopted by the university, is helpful but should be complemented by prophylactic treatment for close contacts, and possible temporary closure of the institution, as raised by the students – if so advised by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and the state ministry of health.

“The university needs to take immediate actions such as isolating suspected cases and providing urgent medical treatment. It should also identify and provide prophylactic antibiotics (rifampicin, ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone based on NCDC guidelines) to close contacts, implement infection control measures, including improved ventilation and hygiene promotion, and intensify public health education on symptoms and prevention,” Tambuwal said.