A suspected meningitis outbreak has claimed the lives of twenty students from three boarding girls’ secondary schools, the Federal Government Girls’ College, and the local government districts of Potiskum and Fika in Yobe State.
Twenty children have been proven dead in the last several weeks from the suspected meningitis outbreak throughout certain boarding secondary schools in Potiskum and Fika local government areas, according to Mohammed Sani-Idris, Yobe State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education. Many were admitted to hospitals before being released.
He explained that after the outbreak at the secondary schools, “I as Commissioner, my Permanent secretary and the Executive Secretary of the State’s Science Technical Board as well as the Chairman of the Teaching Service Board have relocated to Potiskum temporarily to ensure the disease does not escalate”.
Meanwhile, Governor Mai Mala Buni represented by his Deputy Idi Barde-Gubana visited the affected schools of Fika Government Secondary School, Government Science Technical College, and Federal Government Girls’ Technical College all in Potiskum and well as Government Girls’ Science Technical College Gadaka in Fika Local Government Area of the state.
Governor Buni said: “As part of the effort geared towards containing and effectively tackling the outbreak, the government has already provided the emergency treatment drugs as well as deployment of a rapid response team to all the affected areas”.
While briefing the representative of the Governor at Specialist Hospital Potiskum, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health Isa Bukar said a total number of 214 cases were recorded and three are still in the intensive care unit of the hospital responding to treatment.
A similar outbreak had killed many residents of Degubi community in Fika Local Government Area of the state in April 2023.
