Abuja — About 300 Nigerian children may have been killed by measles in the past few weeks. The number of fatalities is expected to hit 50, 000 by the year's end. In most parts of northern Nigeria, it is an emergency! From Kaduna to Sokoto, Katsina to Zamfara and Kebbi; from Jigawa to Yobe, Bauchi, Gombe and Borno states, the communicable disease is on a rampage of human destruction.

Health Minister Professor Adenike Grange has confirmed that the situation requires the urgent intervention of the federal government, though she has observed that certain infectious diseases are now striking people in states that had rejected vaccines in the past. Measles is not the only deadly disease now on rampage in the country. Cholera, which could kill its victim within 24 hours, is also wreaking havoc in Edo, Delta and Bayelsa as it does in Borno, Jigawa and Bauchi states. Yellow fever, Lassa fever, cerebro-spinal meningitis, and avian influenza have been reported in a dozen states of the country and Abuja.

Preventive and containment measures should be sought quickly in the affected communities. Let nobody blame it on witches and wizards or poison givers. The first step is for people to notify the appropriate health authorities of any outbreak of a disease in their communities. Health officials at all levels should also intensify their surveillance activities. As meetings after meetings are being held in the health ministries, the number of casualties keeps rising.