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SUDAN: Risk of meningitis epidemic spreading

[Senegal] Artisanal or traditional fishing boats in their bright colours on the beach at Soumbedioune, Dakar. Rob Annandale/IRIN
Type de pirogue utilisé pour convoyer les immigrants clandestins vers l'archipel des Canaries
    DAKAR

    Nearly 1,000 people have died from meningitis in Sudan and a further 16,000 have been infected since the beginning of the
    epidemic last December, according to a report by the World Health
    Organisation (WHO).

    Aid agencies and the government have warned the figures could increase as the hot weather persists. The disease, first reported in the northern Darfur state, has spread to 18 out of 26 states. "The epidemic is expected to last until the end of June-July, depending on the geographical location of the states affected," the WHO report said.

    So far, 7.6 million people have been vaccinated under the auspices of a task force chaired by the federal ministry of health, the report said. A further 4.5 million need to be vaccinated during the next three weeks.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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