Meningitis is spreading across the region with the death toll reaching 422 since the beginning of 2008 yet, contrary to several recent reports, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said the figures are lower than previous years and that West Africa is well-prepared to contain the disease.
“The International Coordination Group (ICG) is well-stocked with seven million vaccine doses at the ready to supplement existing government stocks if needed,” Katya Fernandez-Vegas, technical officer for WHO in Geneva told IRIN. The ICG was set up in 1995 to ensure meningitis vaccines are used where they are most needed.
“We were expecting 2008 to be a big epidemic year,” Fernandez-Vegas added, “but so far it has not been as bad as the last two years’ outbreaks.”
In October 2007 the WHO said that 80 million people out of roughly 350 million in 21 African countries might need to be vaccinated against the bacterium in 2008.
Meningitis is a potentially fatal infection that affects the thin lining surrounding the brain and spinal cord.
According to WHO meningitis has broken out in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Togo with a total of 3,420 suspect cases and a fatality rate of 12.9 percent.
Burkina Faso
The vast majority of cases so far have been in Burkina Faso. Some 308 people have died from the infection there with a total of 2,513 cases.
Seven health districts have reached epidemic levels. The WHO sets the epidemic threshold for meningitis at 10 cases per 100,000 inhabitants per week in a health district.
“Burkina is the hardest hit but it is also the best-prepared,” Fernandez-Vegas said. “They have had epidemics in recent years so this year they are ready.”
Fernandez-Vegas said the country has 800,000 vaccine doses available and UNICEF will be providing one million more in early March. The government and WHO have so far fully vaccinated three of the districts with epidemic levels.
Ousamen Badolo, head of epidemiologic surveillance at the ministry of health, told IRIN “We continue to send requests to mobilise more vaccine doses and to vaccinate all districts that could enter the epidemic threshold.”
The sub-region
Outbreaks have occurred elsewhere in the sub-region since the beginning of 2008, according to ministries of health that IRIN contacts spoke to, at least 26 people have died of meningitis in Mali, 65 in Cote d’Ivoire and 16 in Benin.
No epidemics have yet been reported in Benin, yet researchers there have recently detected a particularly dangerous meningitis sero-group known as W135, which caused an epidemic in Burkina Faso in 2002.
W135 requires a special vaccine which only ICG can provide.
Several different bacteria can cause meningitis. The Neisseria sero-group is one of the most important to watch because it often leads to epidemics, experts say.
Meningitis has reached epidemic levels in one district in Mali, and two in Cote d’Ivoire.
“Mali is well-prepared with one million vaccines at the ready and strong epidemiological surveillance in place,” Toumani Sidibé the national director of health told IRIN.
“Mali has taken the lead to build stocks since August 2007,” he said. “We can cope with the situation in case of an epidemic.”
Cote d’Ivoire
For Fernandez-Vegas, Cote d’Ivoire is the one country in the sub-region where vaccinating could pose a problem, as epidemic levels have been found in northern districts where there has been insecurity. “This makes it harder to reach affected people,” she said.
The country is also low on vaccines. At least 600,000 vaccines are still needed, according to WHO technical officer Kouadio Aka Tanoh Bian.
But Ferandez-Vegas said ICG should be able to make up the shortfall. “At the moment our biggest concern is confirming the sero-group when a meningitis outbreak occurs,” she said.
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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
