Meningitis Kills 25 In Northern Nigerian State...05/05/00

KANO, Nigeria (Reuters) - An outbreak of meningitis in northern Nigerian Kano State has killed 25 people, at least 10 of them in the past two weeks, a senior government official said Thursday.

The state Health Commissioner Mansur Kabir told Reuters that over 100 cases of victims affected by the disease had been recorded so far this year.

Other health officials gave a figure of about 400 cases recorded in seven local councils - Dambatta, Bichi, Sumaila, Kibiya, Tsayawa, Doguwa and Gwarzo.

"This time of the year is usually conducive for the outbreak of meningitis and at least 10 people have died in the past two weeks," Kabir said.

The death toll compared favorably to the 70 people killed by meningitis in the state during the same period last year, the commissioner said.

"We've been able to reduce the casualty through an increase in number of people immunized against meningitis from 250,000 in 1999 to 750,000 this year," Kabir said.

The outbreak of the disease, linked to severe hot weather conditions, is common in northern Nigeria in the early months of the year.