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Meningitis and Cholera Seasons in Northern Nigeria

Two outbreaks arrive on a calendar the north knows well. Knowing which months carry which risk is most of the practical value.

By Hausa Daily News Editorial Desk · · 3 min read

Northern Nigeria sits within a band of the continent where two major outbreak diseases follow the seasons closely enough to be planned for. Understanding the pattern is the first step to not being caught by it.

Meningitis: the dry season

Nigeria's northern states lie in the African meningitis belt, which runs across the Sahel.

Season: roughly November or December to May or June, peaking in March and April.

Why: Harmattan dust and low humidity irritate and damage the lining of the nose and throat, which makes bacterial invasion easier. Crowded, poorly ventilated sleeping conditions in cold dry-season nights do the rest. When the rains come, transmission drops sharply.

A major development: in April 2024, Nigeria became the first country in the world to introduce Men5CV — a pentavalent vaccine protecting against meningococcal serogroups A, C, W, X and Y in a single shot. Previous vaccines covered serogroup A only, which mattered because outbreaks had shifted to C and W.

What the 2024–25 season looked like

The most recent figures we could verify are for the 2024/25 season:

  • As at 26 March 2025: 807 suspected cases, 74 deaths, across 22 states and the FCT, with serogroup C predominant. Kebbi was worst hit with 248 suspected cases and 26 deaths.
  • By early April 2025: 1,826 suspected cases and 151 deaths across 23 states.
  • By early May 2025: NCDC had recorded more than 4,000 cases since early February.
  • On 4 April 2025, over 1 million Men5CV doses were delivered, targeting ages 1 to 29, launched in Kebbi and Sokoto with Yobe to follow.

An important caveat: we could not obtain national NCDC meningitis figures for the 2025/26 season or for calendar 2026. The sitrep pages did not render figures, and one report we found has since been removed. Do not read the 2025 numbers as current.

Cholera: the rainy season

Season: transmission rises with the rains, roughly May to October.

Why: flooding contaminates wells and boreholes with sewage. Cholera is spread by water and food contaminated with faecal matter, so anything that mixes the two — floodwater, overflowing latrines, displacement camps with inadequate sanitation — drives an outbreak.

The north-east and flood-prone riverine areas carry the heaviest burden, and displacement compounds it: a camp concentrates people, and if water and sanitation provision lags behind arrivals, it becomes a transmission site.

2026 figures

Two sources, different totals, both dated:

Source Date Figure
ECDC as at 9 August 2026 50,290 cases, 338 deaths, case fatality rate 0.67%
NCDC reported 28 August 2026 over 65,000 suspected cases across 35 states and around 195 LGAs, Borno accounting for the majority

The gap is almost certainly suspected cases (NCDC) versus confirmed or reported-to-WHO cases (ECDC), plus the three-week difference in date. We present both with their labels rather than trying to reconcile them.

ECDC's data placed Nigeria as the highest cholera burden globally in this wave. The NCDC Director-General noted that the proportion of cases resulting in death was considerably lower than at the same point in 2025, and that weekly cases had declined substantially from the season's peak.

Also worth knowing

Diphtheria: over 10,000 confirmed cases in 2026 as at 28 August, concentrated in Kano, Borno and Bauchi. Diphtheria is vaccine-preventable, and the outbreak is closely linked to gaps in routine immunisation.

Lassa fever: 206 deaths in 2025. Peak season is the dry season, December to April. It spreads through contact with food or surfaces contaminated by rodent urine or droppings.

What reduces risk

For cholera: treat drinking water — boil it or use a recognised treatment — keep latrines away from water sources, wash hands with soap, and seek rehydration immediately if severe watery diarrhoea starts. Cholera kills through dehydration, and oral rehydration solution started early saves most cases.

For meningitis: vaccination where a campaign is running, and immediate medical attention for fever with a stiff neck, severe headache or sensitivity to light. Meningitis can kill within hours.

For diphtheria: keep childhood immunisation current.

Where to get current figures

NCDC weekly epidemiological reports, published at ncdc.gov.ng/reports/weekly. The figures are inside the PDFs rather than on the index page.

Sources

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