The Yobe State Education Commissioner, Mohammed Sani Idris on Wednesday said a meningitis outbreak has killed at least 20 boarding school students and infected over hundreds.
Idris in a statement said an outbreak of meningitis have been recorded in six secondary schools in the state which led to the death of 20 students out of the 473 infected.
The Education Minister noted that the epicenter of the outbreak is the city of Potiskum where its Government Technical College has been worst hit, accounting for 17 of the deaths, adding that the schools are under medical surveillance with isolation centers and emergency care facilities, as the situation is under control with 370 of those hospitalized, have recovered and been discharged.
Meningitis is an infection of the lining around the brain and spinal cord, transmitted through respiratory droplets or throat secretions. It has a high fatality rate and children are especially at risk.
“The situation is under control because we have not recorded any new cases in the past two days while 370 of those hospitalised have recovered and been discharged,” Idriss added.
Opeoluwa Michael-Ayobami
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