Centre for disease control to establish laboratory in Kano

Worried by the vulnerability of Kano State to series of life threatening communicable diseases, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), yesterday, reiterated the federal government’s readiness to establish disease diagnostic laboratory centre in Kano.

The federal government’s commitment came on the heels of the recently outbreak of Cerebrospinal Meningitis, which left eight persons killed at Dungurawa village in Dawakin-Tofa Council.

Chief Executive Officer of NCDC, Dr. Chikwe Ihekwazu, who unveiled the plan, yesterday, in Kano at the opening of the 3rd Annual Disease Surveillance Review Meeting, said the Centre was committed to supporting the state government to create public laboratories to improve the capacity of disease control.

He said the centre would further strengthen diagnosis and detection of strange diseases and charged the state government to sustain routine immunisation in the state.

Meanwhile, the state government has acquired about 476 solar direct drive refrigerators to cover over 95 per cent of the 484 political wards in the state to strengthen delivery of routine immunisation services to the communities.

Deputy Governor, Prof Hafiz Abubakar, said despite financial constraints in the last three years, the government has embarked on numerous projects and programmes aimed at improving the quality of lives of the people.

He or thanked the NCDC for giving the state the privilege to host the event, stressing that it was a step towards attracting more investment in the health sector of the state.

Commissioner for Health, Dr. Kabir Ibrahim Getso, disclosed that the disease surveillance system of the state has achieved great success over the past three years with critical interventions, including the pilot of surveillance and outbreak response management system.