54 die from snakebites in Gombe

The Gombe State Ministry of Health has recorded 54 deaths from snakebites in 2025, the State Epidemiologist, Dr Nuhu Bile, has disclosed.

Bile made this known on Tuesday in Gombe during a meeting of the State Public Health Emergency Management Committee (PHEMC), supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The meeting was chaired by the Deputy Governor, Mr Manassah Jatau, who also serves as chairman of the committee.

Presenting a summary of disease surveillance activities for 2025, Bile said 1,591 snakebite cases were reported at the Snakebite Hospital in Kaltungo during the year.

He explained that the 54 deaths accounted for about 3.4 per cent of the total cases, while the remaining patients were treated and discharged.

According to him, the number of snakebite cases recorded in 2025 was the lowest in four years, compared to 2,794 cases in 2022, 2,594 in 2023 and 2,189 in 2024.

However, Bile clarified that the decline did not indicate a reduction in the burden of snakebite incidents in the state.

He attributed the lower figures to the lack of free and adequate anti-snake venom at the Kaltungo facility.

He noted that many victims now resort to alternative treatment options due to the unavailability of free anti-snake venom, adding that patients often present at the hospital only when complications arise.

On other disease outbreaks, Bile said the state recorded 176 cholera cases in 2025, with five deaths.

He also reported 14 cases of Lassa fever, eight of which resulted in death.

Speaking at the meeting, a UNICEF consultant from the organisation’s country office in Abuja, Dr Jibril Muhammad, said the engagement was aimed at strengthening public health responses across states.

Muhammad explained that participants included health officials from Gombe, Bauchi, Adamawa and Plateau states, stressing the importance of collaboration in addressing disease outbreaks.

“Currently in Nigeria, more than five diseases have reached outbreak levels. Almost all 37 states have one form of outbreak or another, with cholera being the most widespread,” he said.

He noted that Bauchi and Adamawa states had recorded significant cholera-related casualties, while commending Gombe State for its effective response to the outbreak.

“Gombe has successfully managed its cholera outbreak, which is why we are supporting other states to learn from the strategies that produced these positive results,” Muhammad said.

He urged stakeholders to ensure the full implementation of public health action plans to curb the spread of diseases in their respective states.