The Gombe State Government says it recorded cases of Lymphatic Filariasis, popularly known as Elephantiasis, at Galdamaru community in Kaltungo Local Government Area of the state.
Kennedy Ishaya, the state Commissioner for Health, made this known to News Agency of Nigeria in Gombe on Tuesday.
He described elephantiasis as a parasite infection that causes extreme swelling in the arms and legs which is caused by Filarial worm.
Mr Ishaya said until now, Elephantiasis which is one of the neglected tropical diseases, was last reported a decade ago in the state.
According to him, the ministry is deploying a team of experts as soon as fund is made available to conduct a skin snoop to find out the actual cause of the problem as well as provide a lasting solution.
He said Galdamaru is in Gombe but sharing boundary with Taraba and the area is a difficult terrain which is inaccessible from Gombe.
“The community is in Gombe state but because of lack of access route, the only good road to the area is through Karim Lamido in Taraba state,” he said.
NAN recalls that more than 15,000 residents of Galdamaru community were affected by Schistosomiasis (Bilharzia) in 2011.
NAN
