Health authorities in Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu say they have intensified vaccination against Meningitis and other heatwave related diseases in their various states.

The health authorities made the call in separate interviews over the rising heatwave and high possibility of a meningitis outbreak.

They said they ensured participation in the statewide and primary health care organised routine vaccinations and urged residents to stay in shade, ventilated apartments and drink more water to get hydrated.

Meningitis is the inflammation of the protective membranes (called meninges) that surround the brain and spinal cord. It is a serious condition that can be life-threatening and requires immediate medical attention.

The symptoms include a high temperature (fever), cold hands and feet, a stiff neck, sensitivity to light (photophobia), confusion, nausea, vomiting, muscle or joint pain, and a purple rash, irritability, poor feeding and sleepiness or difficulty waking.

In Anambra, Chizoba Ezeasor, the executive secretary, Anambra Primary Healthcare Development Agency (APHCDA), called on parents and caregivers to present their children for vaccination against diseases including meningitis.

Ms Ezeasor said meningitis is a preventable disease and vaccination remains one of the most effective ways of protecting children and communities. She said that APHCDA provides routine childhood vaccination through PHC centres across the 21 local government areas of Anambra.

Ms Ezeasor urged parents and caregivers to ensure that their children received all the vaccines in line with the national immunisation schedule.

Chukwudi Okani, a lecturer at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Medical College in Anambra, said that heat-related illnesses include dehydration, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, worsening of asthma and meningitis among others.

Mr Okani, a histopathologist, noted that meningitis can be caused by several organisms, including Meningococcal bacteria and viruses. He advised parents not to ignore persistent fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and repeated vomiting as well as other abnormal health signs and conditions.

In Ebonyi, the state government said it had procured vaccines and deployed health workers across communities to prevent possible outbreaks of meningitis in the state.

The state director of public health, Gabriel Ajah, said that the government was taking proactive measures to protect residents against rising temperatures and the prevailing heatwave.

Mr Ajah explained that the interventions were aimed at strengthening disease surveillance, improving early detection and ensuring prompt response to suspected cases across the state’s 13 council areas.

He said that the government was working with relevant health partners, authorities and workers to ensure that residents had access to vaccination, medical attention and appropriate treatment.

Mr Ajah urged residents to remain vigilant and promptly report symptoms associated with meningitis to the nearest health facility rather than resorting to self-medication. He restated the importance of public awareness and community participation in preventing the spread of heatwave related diseases.

He said that the state had designated Mondays for vaccination across PHC centres in communities to improve accessibility and advised residents to take advantage of the vaccination and obtain relevant information from health workers on available preventive services.

Mr Ajah called on community leaders, traditional rulers and other stakeholders to support government efforts by sensitising residents on the importance of vaccination, good hygiene and prompt medical attention.

Some residents of Abakaliki expressed worry over the prevailing heatwave and poor awareness regarding its prevention and remedies.

Jane Akpoke, a retired teacher, called for intensified awareness campaigns, particularly in rural communities, regarding the recent development.

Ms Akpoke said she had observed health workers moving around communities to administer vaccines, adding that sustained public education would encourage more residents to participate in the exercise.

Another resident, Chike Osondu, called for the involvement of religious and market leaders in the sensitisation campaign to ensure that information about meningitis prevention and vaccination reached more people.

In Enugu, the health commissioner, George Ugwu, said that the state has not recorded meningitis or heatwave-related diseases. Mr Ugwu said that the state has effectively checked heatwave-related diseases through continued routine and special Meningitis A vaccination for children between zero and five years for over decades.

Mr Ugwu noted that the state in collaboration with its health partners had continued meningitis A vaccination to enhance  children’s immunity. He said that it targeted over one million children in each exercise.

Mr Ugwu, however, encouraged residents to live in well-ventilated apartments with windows, avoid crowded apartments with poor ventilation and air pollution while seeking medical attention if sudden fever comes up.

A professor of community medicine, Eddy Ndibuagu, who noted that prevalence of heatwave could trigger meningitis, urged residents to stay under shade or in air-conditioned spaces.

Mr Ndibuagu, of the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital (ESUTH), Parklane, advised residents not to stay in places they would sweat profusely and avoid wearing dark clothes, since dark clothes absorbed heat. He also urged people to reduce the rate of walking or farming under the sun and to drink plenty of water after such activities.

Meanwhile, some residents of Enugu metropolis have decried increasing cost the hot weather had imposed on them through running of generating sets, buying more water and buying rechargeable fans to keep their apartments cool.

Chidi Okpara, a resident of Achara Layout, lamented the financial burden of coping with the current heatwave especially providing alternative power supply.

Vivian Ezechukwu, a resident of Idaw River, said that due to the heatwave, her household bought twice the quantity of water that they used on a daily basis.

Ozioma Eke, a retired nurse, said that constant water supply, a major remedy to heatwave, has remained a challenge for some residents as public tap water has yet to be reticulated to all parts of the metropolis.

(NAN)