Death toll from meningitis outbreak in Nigeria hits 745

Warning that the outbreak had reached “epidemic threshold” in certain states, the center indicated that there had been another 256 deaths in the past week.

“As at April 17, 2017, 8,057 suspected cases have been reported; 230 (3 percent) are laboratory confirmed. A total of 745 deaths (9.2 percent) have been recorded,” the center said in its weekly report.

“Of the reported cases, 450 (6 percent) were laboratory tested; of these, 230 (51 percent) were confirmed positive for bacterial meningitis,” it added.

Health Minister Isaac Adewole had told an emergency meeting of traditional rulers and top politicians across northern region that the disease has spread to 26 of the country's 36 states and that at least 21 million people were in urgent need of the vaccine.

He also said over $1 billion were needed to acquire vaccines to halt the spread of the disease.

Read more