No fewer than 54 residents of Gombe State have died from snake bites in 2025, according to the State Epidemiologist, Dr. Nuhu Bile.
Dr. Bile disclosed this on Tuesday during the State Public Health Emergency Management Committee meeting held in Gombe.
The meeting, which was supported by UNICEF, was chaired by the Deputy Governor of the state, Mr. Manassah Jatau, who also serves as the Chairman of the PHEMC.
Presenting an epidemiological update, Dr. Bile revealed that 1,591 snake bite cases were recorded at the Snake Bite Hospital in Kaltungo in 2025.
He said this figure represents the lowest number recorded in the past four years, compared to 2,794 cases in 2022, 2,594 in 2023 and 2,189 in 2024.
He explained, however, that the apparent decline does not reflect a reduction in snake bite incidents but is largely due to the shortage of free and sufficient anti-snake venom at the hospital.
“Many victims now seek alternative treatments, only presenting at the hospital when cases become critical,” Dr. Bile said.
He added that the 54 deaths represented 3.4 per cent of the total cases, while the remaining patients were successfully treated and discharged.
The epidemiologist also disclosed that the state recorded 176 cholera cases with five deaths, as well as 14 confirmed cases of Lassa fever, which resulted in eight deaths in 2025.
Speaking at the meeting, Dr. Jibril Muhammad, a UNICEF consultant who led the Abuja delegation, said the engagement was aimed at strengthening public health preparedness and response in the state.
He commended Gombe State for its effective management of cholera outbreaks and urged other states to adopt similar approaches.
“This engagement is crucial as Nigeria continues to battle multiple disease outbreaks,” Dr. Muhammad said, noting that nearly all 37 states are currently experiencing outbreaks, with cholera causing significant fatalities in Bauchi and Adamawa states.
He called on relevant stakeholders to sustain public health interventions in their respective states to reduce disease burden and prevent avoidable deaths.
