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MENINGITIS: LIMITED VACCINE THREATENS MSF RESPONSE TO EPIDEMICS Barely two months into Africa’s dry season, there are several countries facing severe outbreaks of meningitis. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is responding to epidemics in the Democratic Republic of Congo, southern Sudan, and northern Uganda. All three countries are in the southern tip of Africa’s so-called “meningitis belt.” This region, which is highly prone to epidemics, has 300 million inhabitants and stretches from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east. Australian Dr. Cathy Hewison, MSF’s meningitis specialist, answers questions about the risks for a wide-scale epidemic this year and the current availability of vaccines. Listen to audio interview with Dr. Cathy Hewison Read the interview with Dr. Cathy Hewison WHAT IS MENINGITIS? Cause: Bacterium Neisseria meningitidis. Strains A, B, C, Y, and W135 are the most common. Infected people typically carry the disease without showing symptoms and spread the bacteria through coughing and sneezing. Symptoms: Meningitis causes sudden and intense headaches, fever, nausea, vomiting, photophobia, and stiffness of the neck. Death may occur within hours of the onset of symptoms. Prevalence: Meningitis occurs sporadically throughout the world, but the vast majority of cases and deaths are in Africa. Epidemics regularly hit countries in the area referred to as the African “meningitis belt,” which stretches across the continent from Senegal to Ethiopia. The total population at risk in these countries is around 300 million. Treatment: Without treatment, bacterial meningitis kills up to 50 percent of infected people. Even if the disease is diagnosed early and treated with appropriate antibiotics, such as chloramphenicol or ceftriaxone, the case fatality rate remains 5 to 10 percent. As many as one out of five survivors will suffer from neurological after-effects such as deafness or mental retardation. Vaccination: Timely mass vaccinations are the most effective means of limiting the spread of epidemics. The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that mass immunizations have managed to prevent up to 70 percent of expected cases in individual meningitis outbreaks in Africa. SOURCE: World Health Organization Read other articles on Meningitis
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