LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Meningitis: Meningitis Belt
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In 1996, Africa experienced the largest recorded outbreak of epidemic meningitis in history, with over 250 000 cases and 25 000 deaths registered. Between that crisis and 2002, 223,000 new cases of meningococcal meningitis were reported to the World Health Organization. The countries most affected countries have been Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia and Niger; in 2002, the outbreaks occurring in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and Niger accounted for about 65% of the total cases reported in the African continent. Furthermore, the meningitis belt appears to be extending further south. In 2002, the Great Lakes region was affected by outbreaks in villages and refugees camps which caused more than 2,200 cases, including 200 deaths.
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Barely two months into Africa's dry season, there are several countries facing severe outbreaks of meningitis. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is already responding to epidemics in the Democratic Republic of Congo, southern Sudan, and northern Uganda. All three countries are in the southern tip of Africa's so-called "meningitis belt." This region, which is highly prone to epidemics, has 300 million inhabitants and stretches from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east. Yet there is a very limited supply of vaccines. Dr. Cathy Hewison, MSF's meningitis specialist, answers questions about the risks for a wide-scale epidemic this year and the current availability of vaccines.
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The highest burden of meningococcal disease occurs in sub-Saharan Africa, which is known as the “Meningitis Belt”, an area that stretches from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east, with an estimated total population of 300 million people. This hyperendemic area is characterized by particular climate and social habits. During the dry season, between December and June, because of dust winds and upper respiratory tract infections due to cold nights, the local immunity of the pharynx is diminished increasing the risk of meningitis. At the same time, the transmission of N. meningitidis is favoured by overcrowded housing at family level and by large population displacements due to pilgrimages and traditional markets at regional level. This conjunction of factors explains the large epidemics which occur during this season in the meningitis belt area. Due to herd immunity (whereby transmission is blocked when a critical percentage of the population had been vaccinated... extending protection to the unvaccinated), these epidemics occur in a cyclic mode.
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Meningitis Belt