Reported meningitis outbreak under control - WHO

The onset of seasonal rains in Eritrea has helped to bring under control an outbreak of meningitis that killed one child in the southern Debub Zone, a World Health Organization (WHO) official told IRIN. Another 33 cases had been reported in nine villages in the zone, the WHO country representative in Eritrea, Andrew Kosia, said on Wednesday. "Luckily enough, it is under control now," he said. "What I can say perhaps is divine intervention [played an important role] because when it rains - that reduces transmission of the disease." Between March and May, Eritrea's central highlands, where the Debub Zone is located, along with other parts of the country, tend to receive scattered rains (called the Azmera rains), followed by the main rainy season (Kremti) between July and September. "Any airborne disease like meningitis, when it rains heavily, [is slowed because the rain] stops the spread of certain bacteria," Kosia told IRIN in the capital, Asmara. Meningitis is an infection of the thin lining surrounding the brain and the spinal cord and is transmitted through droplets in the air by coughing and sneezing, for example. It can cause death, brain damage, hearing loss or learning disability, and its most common symptoms are a stiff neck, high fever, sensitivity to light, confusion, headaches and vomiting. Kosia said a surveillance team from the Eritrean Health Ministry had travelled to the Debub Zone after receiving information of a possible outbreak, took samples and sent them for testing in Kenya and South Africa. "We are now going to vaccinate about 25,000 people [in Debub Zone]," Kosia told IRIN. "This is one area where meningitis is endemic, but the chances of it recurring are slim because we are now entering the rainy season."