SPATIAL PATTERN OF MENINGOCOCCAL MENINGITIS IN KADUNA METROPOLISS

Abstract

Meningococcal meningitis is an airborne disease that has been a threat to human life over a century now. Countries within the West Africa meningitis belt are worst hit. Kaduna metropolis, a town within northern Nigeria falls within the African meningitis belt. In spite of some of the government and non-governmental efforts in combating the menace; they don’t seem to be winning the battle. The study seeks to investigate the spatial pattern of the spread and also to identify those locations that have high occurrence of the disease. Past data on Meningococcal meningitis (2007 to 2011) were used for the study. Getis and ord’s local gi(d) statistics was used to evaluate the local spatial pattern of the disease. The result of the study revealed that neighborhoods that have high clusters with high Z scores includes Tudun wada, Tudun nupawa Kabala, Angwan Mu’azu, Angwan sanusi, Sabon gari, Angwan mu’azu 1, Kudandan, Nasarawa industry, Polytechnic, Nasarawa village and Kurmin gbagyi. The other neighborhoods that have lower Z scores include Kawo extension, Kawo GRA Airforce base and Agric center. The study discovered that there was a consistent spread of the disease is Kabala, Angwan Mu’azu, Angwan sanusi, Sabon gari, Angwan mu’azu 1, Kudandan, Nasarawa industry, Polytechnic, Nasarawa village and Kurmin gbagyi neighborhoods for the period of five years which indicates strongly that the disease is more dominant in those locations.