Meningitis kills 109 in Niger

2006-04-12 10:07

Niamey - An outbreak of meningitis in Niger has killed 109 people since the start of the year and infected 1 550 others, more than double the number of deaths recorded by the United Nations a month ago, say officials.

The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said last week that 802 people had been infected by the disease in Niger between January 1 and March 10, of whom 52 had died.

The Niger government's national health information system (SNIS) said the outbreak this year was significantly worse than last year, when 550 people were infected and 76 of them died.

Meningitis killed 616 people

It said that the government was organising free vaccination campaigns to contain the spread, at a cost of more than 100 million CFA francs ($185 000).

The OCHA said that in neighbouring Burkina Faso, meningitis had infected 6 110 people and killed 616 of them by March 18, a death rate per infection of 10.8%.

Niger and Burkina Faso, two of the world's poorest countries, were situated in the Africa's meningitis belt, which stretched from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east and had a population of about 300 million.

Meningitis was an infection of the meninges, the tissue that surrounded the brain and spinal chord. It caused high fever, violent headaches and vomiting.

- AFP