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Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ghalaya-Tripura-areas/articleshow/4356441.cms
Severe meningitis outbreak in Meghalaya, Tripura areas
4 Apr 2009, 0043 hrs IST, Kounteya Sinha, TNN
NEW DELHI: The government has decided to vaccinate the entire population living in the meningococcal meningitis affected areas of Meghalaya
and Tripura.
This will be the first time that government will undertake such a drive to combat a meningitis outbreak.
WHO is procuring 3.5 lakh doses of the vaccine to kickstart the drive. Health ministry officials say 10 lakh people in Meghalaya and 50,000 in Tripura will need to be vaccinated. "However, we require around 3.5 lakh doses immedietely which is being procured jointly by international NGO, MSF, and WHO for us. As soon as they arrive in the next couple of weeks, the vaccination will start," the official said.
According to protocol, if the infection spreads to 10 per one million population, vaccination has to be undertaken.
In Meghalaya's East Khasi hills and Jaintia hills, more than 10 per million population has got infected. "We are therefore going ahead with vaccination in these two places. Tripura's health departement has also requested us for 50,000 doses of the vaccine. The drive will be undertaken in Tripura's Bhilai district," the ministry official said.
Since last year, Meghalaya has recorded 1,791 cases of meningitis of which 1,367 are suspected cases, 245 have been lab confirmed and 224 deaths.
The fatal bacterial infection has also sprung up in Tripura since January 2009 which has till now recorded 126 confirmed meningitis cases and 33 deaths.
The ministry had earlier rushed a team of experts from National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) headed by the institute's head of microbiology division Dr Sunil Gupta to the state.
The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, has now issued a warning to tourists visiting the affected north-eastern states to get vaccinated against meningitis at least 10 days before travel. The advisory issued in April 1 says travellers to this part of India or to any other area currently experiencing meningitis epidemics should get vaccinated. Protection develops 7-10 days after receiving the vaccine.
The bacteria that causes meningitis are spread by close, direct, or prolonged contact with an infected person through saliva or respiratory and throat secretions. This kind of contact includes intimate kissing or living in the same home.
These bacteria are not spread by casual contact or by simply breathing the air where a person with meningitis has been.
"To prevent secondary cases, CDC recommends preventive antibiotics (chemoprophylaxis) for close contacts of a person with meningococcal disease. Antibiotics for chemoprophylaxis include rifampin, ciprofloxacin, and ceftriaxone. Ceftriaxone is recommended for pregnant women," the advisory says.
Meningococcal meningitis mostly affects children and kills rapidly in about 10% of cases. It is rare, affecting one in every 100,000 people.
Speaking to TOI from Shillong earlier, Meghalaya's director of health services K H Lakiang had said, "We have never had a case of meningococcal meningitis and suddenly we have an outbreak on our hands. Labs have been set up at Pasteur Institute in Shillong to test for meningococcal meningitis."
Severe meningitis outbreak in Meghalaya, Tripura areas
4 Apr 2009, 0043 hrs IST, Kounteya Sinha, TNN
NEW DELHI: The government has decided to vaccinate the entire population living in the meningococcal meningitis affected areas of Meghalaya
and Tripura.
This will be the first time that government will undertake such a drive to combat a meningitis outbreak.
WHO is procuring 3.5 lakh doses of the vaccine to kickstart the drive. Health ministry officials say 10 lakh people in Meghalaya and 50,000 in Tripura will need to be vaccinated. "However, we require around 3.5 lakh doses immedietely which is being procured jointly by international NGO, MSF, and WHO for us. As soon as they arrive in the next couple of weeks, the vaccination will start," the official said.
According to protocol, if the infection spreads to 10 per one million population, vaccination has to be undertaken.
In Meghalaya's East Khasi hills and Jaintia hills, more than 10 per million population has got infected. "We are therefore going ahead with vaccination in these two places. Tripura's health departement has also requested us for 50,000 doses of the vaccine. The drive will be undertaken in Tripura's Bhilai district," the ministry official said.
Since last year, Meghalaya has recorded 1,791 cases of meningitis of which 1,367 are suspected cases, 245 have been lab confirmed and 224 deaths.
The fatal bacterial infection has also sprung up in Tripura since January 2009 which has till now recorded 126 confirmed meningitis cases and 33 deaths.
The ministry had earlier rushed a team of experts from National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) headed by the institute's head of microbiology division Dr Sunil Gupta to the state.
The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, has now issued a warning to tourists visiting the affected north-eastern states to get vaccinated against meningitis at least 10 days before travel. The advisory issued in April 1 says travellers to this part of India or to any other area currently experiencing meningitis epidemics should get vaccinated. Protection develops 7-10 days after receiving the vaccine.
The bacteria that causes meningitis are spread by close, direct, or prolonged contact with an infected person through saliva or respiratory and throat secretions. This kind of contact includes intimate kissing or living in the same home.
These bacteria are not spread by casual contact or by simply breathing the air where a person with meningitis has been.
"To prevent secondary cases, CDC recommends preventive antibiotics (chemoprophylaxis) for close contacts of a person with meningococcal disease. Antibiotics for chemoprophylaxis include rifampin, ciprofloxacin, and ceftriaxone. Ceftriaxone is recommended for pregnant women," the advisory says.
Meningococcal meningitis mostly affects children and kills rapidly in about 10% of cases. It is rare, affecting one in every 100,000 people.
Speaking to TOI from Shillong earlier, Meghalaya's director of health services K H Lakiang had said, "We have never had a case of meningococcal meningitis and suddenly we have an outbreak on our hands. Labs have been set up at Pasteur Institute in Shillong to test for meningococcal meningitis."