By Bayo Alabira
Dutse
No fewer than six under five children died as a result of an outbreak of measles and whopping cough in Suletankarkar local government area of Jigawa state.
According to reports, the outbreak was in Maizare village where six under five children died, among the six villages, affected by the outbreak of the two killer diseases.
However, the Suletankarkar local government area, Head of Department for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Department, Mohammed Maisamari, confirmed the outbreak of the two diseases that killed the under five children across six communities.
To this end, it is not yet clear whether the diseases were imported from neighbouring Niger Republic as four out of the affected communities are border villages located along Nigeria and Niger Republic borders.
According to him, his local government council got the report of the outbreak of the diseases in since March 1, 2016, after the death of the children.
He added that based on that the council promptly responded by sending team of health workers to the affected villages for treatment of all children diagnosed to have contracted any of the two diseases.
“Maizare is the only village amongst the villages that recorded the death of six children. So far, 249 under five children have been treated as a result of contracting measles or whopping cough in six of the affected villages. In Maizare, 139 children have been treated, in Lula 24, in Dadin Duniya 26, Malam Kadir 10, in Suletankarkar and Fulanin Danladi, 25 children have been treated in each of the villages.”
He, therefore, said among other measures taken in order to contain the situation, was to intensify on health education campaign to further educate the rural dwellers on the need to patronise health centres for immunisations.
