Meningitis still a threat

The meningitis outbreak in Ethiopia claimed the lives of 141 persons in nine of the 11 regions of Ethiopia by 1 March, according to reports reaching UN World Health Organization (WHO) in Ethiopia, Mulugeta Gebru, a WHO Emergency officer, told IRIN. The strain affecting Ethiopia is the Sero-A type, the most virulent strain of meningitis, and "the major cause of epidemics", according to Gebru. Some 80% of all those affected are under 30 years of age, he said. The Ethiopian government issued an appeal for vaccines on 27 February to combat the deadly epidemic. A total of over 8 million vaccines were needed. So far 766,000 vaccines have been received, plus 425,000 propositioned from last year, according to WHO. With another 3.3 million doses pledged, this leaves 3.9 million vaccines short. The Ethiopian health ministry has said that a major meningitis epidemic can be expected every 8-12 years. The last major outbreak in Ethiopia was 1989.