Niger Confirms 11 Cases Of Buruli Ulcer, Eliminates 5 Diseases

The Niger State government has confirmed  the outbreak of the Buruli Ulcer in Munya local government area of the state.

The commissioner for health, Dr Murtala Mohammed Bagana said yesterday in Minna that 11 cases of the disease had been reported.

He said experts had been deployed to the affected communities for four weeks to enable them detect what was responsible for the outbreak.

According to him, samples have been taken from the communities and sent to the ABU Teaching Hospital laboratory in Zaria for further analysis.

Meanwhile, he said the state governor had so far eliminated five Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) across the state.

The commissioner for health told news conference in Minna yesterday that the fight to eliminate the NTDs should not be left to the government alone but should be a collective effort by all stakeholders.

Bagana who was addressing journalists on the international  day to eliminate NTDs said  16 NTDs were identified in Nigeria and five had been completely eliminated in the state.

According to him, the state government is ensuring that the remaining NTDs  were eliminated expeditiously, while attributing the prevalence of such diseases to poverty, insufficient attention,  limited funding and lack of basic amenities in the rural communities.

“Guinea worm and others have  been eliminated in Niger State and across Nigeria, with the political will and sustained investment, the elimination of other diseases is possible and achievable,” he said.

January 30 every year has been set aside to  campaign for the eradication of the Neglected Tropical Diseases globally and the state government with development partners like the World Health Organisation marked the event in Minna to outline ways aimed  at  eliminating the diseases.