Nigeria, April 5 -- Nigeria has received over one million doses of the pentavalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine (Men5CV) to combat the meningococcus C and W outbreak in northern Nigeria.

The vaccine doses, funded by Gavi, were received by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, according to a joint press statement on Friday by the Vaccine Alliance, Gavi, the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), the country has recorded 807 suspected cases of cerebrospinal meningitis. PREMIUM TIMES reports that the suspected cases have resulted in 74 deaths from 22 states, with a case fatality rate of 9.2 per cent.

The Fr...