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Wed, 07:05 23 Apr 2008 GMT17

 
Meningitis

Last reviewed: 23-03-2007

A looming outbreak


Twelve-year-old Diarra lies unconscious in a hospital bed suffering from classic meningitis symptoms: fever, stiffness, vomiting, in Senegal's capital Dakar, December 12, 2006. REUTERS/HO/MSF/Anthony Jacopucci
Twelve-year-old Diarra lies unconscious in a hospital bed suffering from classic meningitis symptoms: fever, stiffness, vomiting, in Senegal's capital Dakar, December 12, 2006. REUTERS/HO/MSF/Anthony Jacopucci
The U.N. World Health Organisation(WHO) has warned that a rising number of cases of meningitis in Burkina Faso and Sudan could indicate the beginnings of a major epidemic that has the potential to claim tens of thousands of lives.

  • Can kill within hours
  • Renewed outbreak in Africa
  • Tens of thousands at risk

    WHO officials have also said there could be a shortage of as many as 52 million doses of vaccine in the event of a full-scale regional outbreak. Cases have also been reported in Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo.

    A wave of epidemics in the mid-1990s across Africa's so-called Meningitis Belt - which stretches from Senegal in the West to Ethiopia in the East - killed some 25,000 people. A total of 250,000 were infected.

    Meningitis is a serious and often fatal disease that infects the fluid that lines either the brain or the spinal cord. Symptoms include severe headache, fever, nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to bright lights. As the disease progresses, patients may experience seizures. It is passed between people by coughing and sneezing, generally in poor hygiene environments. It can also be transmitted by kissing.

    The disease can affect anyone, young or old, and is by no means limited to Africa, with hundreds of cases a year reported in Europe, the Americas and in recent years, New Zealand. It can be treated with antibiotics if caught early, penicillin being the most commonly used.

    There are various forms of meningitis, which is caused by either viral or bacterial infections. According to the U.S.-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) , viral meningitis is generally less severe and does not require specific treatment. A small number of cases can be caused by fungal infection.

    Bacterial meningitis, on the other hand, kills between 5 and 10 percent of people who catch it within 24 to 48 hours. Up to 20 percent of survivors suffer brain damage, hearing loss, or learning disability.

    Some bacteria that cause meningitis can also cause septicaemia, a form of blood poisoning that occurs when the bacteria enter the bloodstream and multiply uncontrollably.

    Estimated population of Meningitis Belt 300 million (U.N. World Health Organisation (WHO))
    Number of cases in Meningitis Belt during 2006 40,000 (WHO)
    Attack rate in major African epidemics 100-800 per 100,000 population (WHO)

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