In Nigeria’s Kebbi state, vaccines are curbing a deadly meningitis outbreak
Many hundreds have been hospitalised with the deadly condition since early March, but a Men5CV campaign is bending the epidemic curve into decline.
On 29 April, in the crowded emergency isolation ward at the General Hospital of Gwandu in Nigeria’s Kebbi state, four-year-old Ahmed Kaliru received a shot of the pentavalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine, Men5CV. Four frightening days had passed since he had first been admitted to the ward, a victim of a brutal meningitis outbreak sweeping Gwandu since early March. The injection signalled the hope of lasting relief for his family.
“It was his cry that woke us from sleep one night,” said Bashir Kaliru, Ahmed’s father. “We were confused and didn’t know what the problem was until we got to the hospital in the morning.
“A nurse took his blood sample and he was admitted. Two days later we were told that he had meningitis. We were afraid but the medical workers kept assuring us that he won’t die.
