Prevalence and factors influencing cerebro-spinal meningitis, in Kano Metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

Meningococcal disease is a contagious disease caused by the meningococcus (Neisseria meningitidis), a Gram-negative bacterium. Today epidemic meningococcal meningitis is a major public health problem affecting tropical countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, it causes considerable morbidity and mortality. Frequent epidemics and control measures have met with limited success. This study analyzes the incidence, and influencing factors of meningitis in Kano metropolis, Nigeria. The study made use of both primary and secondary data. Primary data was collected using questionnaire while secondary data was obtained from hospital records. The study adopted systematic sampling to select four Local Government Areas. Purposive sampling technique was employed to select houses for the administration of 384 copies of questionnaire. Data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics as well as GIS-mapping such as: line graph, percentages, kernel density estimation and regression. The result showed that out of the 8724 cases of meningitis recorded from 2008 – 2017, LGA recorded the highest incidences (37.3%), where population is high and estimated density shows very high cluster. Also, incidence of meningitis, though with fluctuating pattern, appeared to be increasing from 2014 to 2017. Factors like overcrowding of people sleeping in the same room (0.0674) and increase in temperature (0.0641) were the most significant factors of meningitis in the study area. Awareness should be made on the need for a ventilated housing especially during the high temperature season (March to April) in the area