Meningitis outbreak kills 246 in Burkina Faso

[Shiloh]

Source: http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE61P0HN20100226

Meningitis outbreak kills 246 in Burkina Faso
Fri Feb 26, 2010 1:03pm GMT

OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - Health officials in the west African country of Burkina Faso are worried about an increase in deaths from meningitis which has killed 246 people so far this year, up from 203 in the same period last year.

Meningitis, a disease that inflames the lining of the brain and can be transmitted by mosquitoes, tends to strike countries in the Sahel region during the dry season which typically runs from November to June.

"We are worried about the expansion of this epidemic," said Health Ministry official Sylvestre Tiendrebeogo on Friday without giving a possible reason for the rise.

Cases usually peak in Burkina Faso, Chad, northern Nigeria and Niger around April.

Tiendrebeogo said some 1,596 cases of the disease had been recorded in Burkina Faso so far this year, compared to 1,281 in the same period last year.

He said the government was trying to stem the outbreak with a vaccination program.

 

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Re: Meningitis outbreak kills 246 in Burkina Faso

Source: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/SHIG-837F6Z?OpenDocument

Burkina Faso: Meningitis DREF operation n? MDRBF009

Source: International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)

Date: 03 Mar 2010

ull_Report F (pdf* format - 857.9 Kbytes)


GLIDE n? FL-2010-000039-BFA

The International Federation?s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) is a source of un-earmarked money created by the Federation in 1985 to ensure that immediate financial support is available for Red Cross and Red Crescent response to emergencies. The DREF is a vital part of the International Federation?s disaster response system and increases the ability of national societies to respond to disasters.

CHF 172,928 (USD 160,669 or EUR 118,071) has been allocated from the Federation?s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to support the Burkinabe Red Cross Society (BRCS) in delivering immediate assistance to some 500,000 beneficiaries (direct or indirect).

Unearmarked funds to repay DREF are encouraged.

Summary: Burkina-Faso has again been afflicted by a new meningitis outbreak, with some 1,251 cases and 193 deaths registered within six weeks. Considering the rapid spread of the disease and the high lethality rate, the BRCS, with support from the International Federation?s

Regional Health Department in Dakar, has initiated an immediate response by working with the Ministry of Health to conduct a social mobilization campaign to mitigate the effects of the epidemic. This DREF operation aims at supporting the National Society to carry out the planned activities for an estimated 500,000 vulnerable people (directly or indirectly) in the affected areas. Despite the fact that the Federation has made considerable efforts to reinforce preparation efforts for eventual meningitis outbreaks, funding prior to these events remains elusive and therefore National Societies unfortunately often find themselves reacting by requesting support from resources such as the Federation?0s DREF to contain the threat.

This operation is expected to be implemented over 3 months, and will therefore be completed by 1 June, 2010; a Final Report will be made available three months after the end of the operation (by September, 2010).

The situation

Burkina Faso is a West African country located in the heart of the African meningitis belt stretching from Senegal to Djibouti. The hot and dry climate is favourable to the outbreak of meningitis epidemics from October to May. The country has been once again hit by a massive outbreak.

- The meningitis situation from week 1 to week 6 reflects 1,251 cases with 193 deaths with a lethality rate of approximately 6.5%.

- The most affected districts are Pama, Titao, Sapouy, and Bati? with Pama attack rate of 54.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants; Titao attack rate of 14.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, Sapouy attack rate of 6 cases per 100,000 inhabitants and Bati? attack rate of 5.1 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

- The districts on alert at week 6 (17/02/2010) are: Kongoussi, L?o and Nanoro.

The Government has sent field teams from the central level to support the efforts of medical districts and regions. At the Ministry of Health, the following activities are being implemented:

- Trigger the response immunization in endemic areas;

- Conduct vaccination campaign in the districts of Sapouy and L?o;

- Strengthen the stock of medicines.

A mass vaccination campaign has started in week 5 using polysaccharide vaccine A+B in the district of Pama. There is still a need to monitor the situation according to the Head of Service of Epidemiological Surveillance, and there is a need for more assistance especially in the most affected districts where immunization campaigns will be held. Social mobilization and case finding by the BRCS are vital in this operation, especially as the situation is being worse than last year, and the disease is evolving very quickly.