Meningitis kills 17 in Guinea

2006-04-23 18:05

Conakry - A meningitis epidemic in Eastern Guinea has hit at least 168 people and killed 17 since the beginning of April, the Swiss branch of Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) said on Sunday.

According to Gerard Bedock, head of MSF-Switzerland's mission in Guinea, the disease first appeared in the Far-Eastern provincial capital, Mandiana, between April 4 and April 6, before spreading to other areas, including Faralako, Koundian, Morodou and Kinieran near the Malian border.

"At least 168 cases have been recorded, 17 of these being fatal", Bedock said. That means the mortality rate is 10%.

Bedock also announced that a crisis committee was set up this weekend to start a campaign of vaccination in the region, for which the health ministry, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Unicef had brought 200 000 doses of the vaccine to the area, along with other medicines.

Guinea is in the so-called "meningitis belt" that runs from the Southern Sahara in Senegal to Ethiopia, and whose total population is estimated at 300 million people.

The disease usually breaks out during the dry season, which starts in December-January when the warm, dry Harmattan wind begins to blow, spreading meningitis germs.

- SAPA