Meningitis reported in seven countries

Several West African countries located in Africa's meningitis belt have recorded cases of the disease between 1 January and 7 April 2002, the World Health Organisation reported on Thursday.

The African meningitis belt, according to WHO, comprises about 15 countries immediately south of the Sahara where outbreaks of the disease occur each year. They usually start during the dry season, around November, and decline rapidly with the arrival of rains around June. Major epidemics usually occur every 5-10 years.

Burkina Faso is the country hardest hit, having reported 1,056 deaths from nearly 8,500 infections. The International federation of the Red Cross, which appealed for money to help raise awareness last week, said some 1.9 million people in the country's worst affected districts could be at risk. Togo has also reported a high number of cases - 589, including 95 deaths, while there have been 50 deaths for 502 cases in Benin.

Other affected countries include Cote d'Ivoire ( 244 cases, 43 deaths), The Gambia (50 cases, three deaths), Guinea (123 cases, 23 deaths), Mali (382 cases; 33 deaths) and Senegal (121 cases, seven deaths).