Gombe and Bauchi State Governments have officially acknowledged the presence of cerebrospinal meningitis in the respective states.

Following reports of a mysterious disease in the Nafada Local Government Area of Gombe State, Commissioner for Health, Dr. Habu Dahiru, shed light on the situation, revealing that government investigations pointed towards symptoms indicative of CSM.

Dahiru urged residents to be vigilant and report any suspected cases to the nearest health facility promptly. He emphasized the importance of immediate action and intervention in controlling the spread of the disease.

The confirmation comes amidst concerns and social media reports of the strange illness in Nafada and neighboring Local Government Areas, especially those sharing borders with Yobe State, where the outbreak has reportedly claimed at least 30 lives.

Addressing journalists, Commissioner Dahiru cautioned against the spread of rumors and stressed adherence to standard guidelines for reporting public health incidents.

While acknowledging the seriousness of the situation, Dr. Dahiru clarified that the Incident Management System (IMS) would not be activated immediately. He explained that the cases have not reached the threshold for a CSM outbreak, which requires ten confirmed cases per 100,000 people in the district per week.

On the other hand, the Bauchi State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Adamu Sambo, confirmed six cases in the state. He emphasized that measures were in place in local governments sharing borders with Yobe State including Gamawa, Dambam, Zaki, Katagum, and Itas/Gadau.

An official of the Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency who pleaded anonymity disclosed that already, there is already an outbreak of the disease in some local government areas but noted that he has no authority to make such a declaration.

He however said that personnel from the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency were already in the state for surveillance and necessary precautionary steps to ensure that the outbreak was curtailed.

He further outlined the proactive approach, including contact-tracing within communities to treat and isolate victims for proper monitoring and evaluation.