Death toll in meningitis outbreak rises to 813

Isaac Adewole, minister of health, says 813 lives have been lost to the meningitis outbreak that has lasted 16 weeks.

Adewole disclosed this while speaking to journalists at the end of Wednesday’s federal executive council meeting. He also said the spread of the disease had reduced.

“As of yesterday (Tuesday), the number of deaths stood at 813. As of now, we are also noticing a decline,” he said.

“This is week 16. This is also expected because we are moving away from the active season. We are confident that in the next couple of weeks, everything will be over.”

Senate President Bukola Saraki also confirmed this figure in a tweet.

“We’ve lost about 800 people to meningitis – this should not be the case. We must encourage families to take their children for vaccination” he said.

“As we mark #WorldImmunizationWeek, we must all encourage our families and communities to embrace vaccines as a preventive healthcare measure.”