40,000 immunised against meningitis

Medecins Sans Frontieres reported on Wednesday that by mid-March 40,000 people had been vaccinated against meningitis in the western district of Batangafo, in the Central African Republic. The ongoing vaccination drive was launched on 8 March in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and includes protection against measles. MSF reported that all 59,000 people over two years old in Batangafo and neighbouring rural areas, some 386 km north the nation's capital, Bangui, were being vaccinated. MSF reported that 42 suspected cases of meningitis had been reported so far, 12 of whom were confirmed with the type-A bacteria. MSF said the fatality rate had reached 9.5 percent. "The Emergency Unit has also sent a nurse and a logistician to the Central African Republic to support the team already present," MSF reported. The Italian charity, Cooperazionde Internazionale, first raised the meningitis alert in late February. Health services in Batangafo town were interrupted between October 2002 and March 2003 when rebels loyal to the current CAR leader, Francois Bozize, fought government forces. Most health facilities were looted during the rebellion and medical and health personnel fled. The vaccination of children only resumed in October 2003, when the International Committee of the Red Cross distributed vaccine storage freezers to hospitals.