Schools Closed To Curb Meningitis Spread
Schools in Upper Nile state have been ordered to close for two weeks to curb the spread of meningitis, the state Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Ministry of Health declared the closure of primary and secondary schools in Malakal town to allow for a vaccination campaign to kick off. 15 May 2013 By Jok P Mayom MALAKAL, 13 May 2013 [Gurtong] - The Education Director General Ustaz Lul Ruei Dhol said that the schools will be reopened after two week (estimated to be the 27th May 2013) after the vaccination campaign is done. The vaccination campaigns will be done in the previous malaria campaign health units and the new areas like Hai Tenmia, Hai Mathar, and Hai Salaam. "Schools will be reopened on the 27 of May 2013 after the vaccination campaigns," Ruei told the schools heads and the pupils. He urged all the residents to participate in the vaccination and report back to school once the campaign is over. South Sudan’s Ministry of Health and the state health ministry declared an outbreak of Meningitis in Upper Nile state last month after the disease reportedly killed two people with 38 cases of infection at the onset of the disease in Makal County. The state minister of health Dr. Charles Yor Odhok says that in a series of infection, the disease have claims a total of 5 people dead and 90 patients currently attending medical services in Malakal teaching hospital. “After the outbreak of the disease, the health officials and doctors are advising people to avoid overcrowding and this is one of the reasons of closing schools” Ustaz Lul Ruei the director general in the ministry of education said. “The disease is spread through respiratory secretion, droplets, sneezing and this are old very common and not well managed by the pupils and students thus closure of schools” they said. “We are also closing the schools so that the children get time of vaccination campaign during the service” Ruei said. The first patient for the disease appeared on the 15th of April and got notices on the 30th of April by the state and national ministry of health after confirming the positive test of Neisseria meningitis. The State health minister Dr. Charles Yor Odhok said that the worst affected patients at the instances of the outbreak are between the ages of 18-20 years. Adding that the disease can even affects premature babies, newborn babies and adults too. Meningitis bacteria, according to the Health Ministry and doctors, are transmitted from one person to another through droplets of respiratory or throat secretions. The most common symptoms of the disease are stiff neck, high fever, confusion, headaches and vomiting, among others. The ministry undertakes some measures like reactivation of national and state epidemic task forces to coordinate the intervention response and the surveillance has been heightened at facility and community level. The state health ministry is on case management and laboratory capacity enhanced through training and deployment of technical officers to monitor the outbreak of the disease which will allow students to be at home. The Ministry of Health together with health partners are in a plan to conduct mass meningitis vaccination campaign, targeting over 260,000 people living in Makal County including the surrounding payams and bomas. Doctors say for some causes of meningitis, protection can be provided in the long term through vaccination, or in the short term with antibiotic. Some behavioral measures may also be effective. Dr. Charles said people should avoid random respiratory secretions during close contact such as kissing, sneezing or coughing on someone because the disease is so contagious since it can be transmitted through the droplets. Posted in: Home, Education, Health -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
