Niger - Meningitis outbreak 2024

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Meningitis: 1,692 cases including 99 deaths between March and April, Niamey home of the new wave of epidemic

Friday, April 19, 2024 5:14 p.m.
Since mid-March 2024, Niger has been facing a meningitis epidemic, with 1,692 cases reported, including 99 deaths as of April 17, according to statistics published by WHO Niger. In Niamey, the center of the epidemic, WHO supports the Ministry of Public Health in surveillance and care to ensure the protection of the population. Also in Agadez, cases with deaths were recently reported in the commune of Djado. In 2022 and 2023, the disease has already wreaked havoc in the Zinder region, but the epidemic was contained thanks to the vaccination campaign which accompanied the response strategy deployed by the authorities, with the support of technical partners. and financial.


Like the previous two years, Niger is still facing a new wave of meningitis epidemic. Since mid-March 2024, Niger has been facing a meningitis epidemic with 1,692 cases reported, including 99 deaths as of April 17, according to statistics just published by WHO Niger. As part of the support it provides to the Ministry of Public Health in surveillance and care to ensure the protection of the population, the WHO has just donated a batch of medicines, reagents and of laboratory materials to the Regional Directorate of Public Health (DRSP) of Niamey for case detection and patient care. WHO Niger also supports capacity building of field actors and the preparation of the vaccination campaign with a view to an optimal response.

A few days ago, the Regional Health Directorate of Agadez, in the north of the country, confirmed to our colleagues at Air Info that twenty-six (26) people were affected by meningitis with ten (10) deaths recorded in the commune of Djado.

In 2022 and 2023, Niger had already experienced an epidemic of this disease which previously wreaked havoc among populations, mainly children. Between November 1, 2022 and January 27, 2023, a total of 559 cases of meningococcal meningitis were reported, including 111 laboratory-confirmed cases and 18 deaths reported in the Zinder region, in the southeast of the country. The situation is increasing compared to the 231 cases reported for the same period of 2022.

In order to contain the disease, vaccination and awareness campaigns were carried out by the Ministry of Public Health with the support of its partners, notably the WHO. The vaccination campaign carried out in May 2023, for example, made it possible to reach 91.2% of the targeted people, or 362,057 out of 371,710 people.

...https://www.actuniger.com/sante-edu...mey-foyer-de-la-nouvelle-vague-depidemie.html

 

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Meningitis epidemic: WHO Niger steps up response efforts.

Harilala Myriam Vololonarivo​

01 May 2024

Located in the African meningitis belt, Niger is one of the 26 ‘hyperendemic’ African countries for meningitis. The country is currently facing a rapid increase in the number of cases, with a 50% rise on the previous year.

In week 16 of 2024, Niger reported a total of 2012 cases of meningitis with 123 deaths, representing a case-fatality rate of 6.1%. This is a worrying increase compared with the same period last year, when 1,389 cases were recorded, with 72 deaths (case-fatality rate: 5.2%).

The Niamey region is the epicentre of the epidemic, with a cumulative attack rate of 52.2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by the regions of Agadez (11.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), Zinder (6.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants) and Dosso (6.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants). Niamey I health district remains in an epidemic situation for the sixth week running, with an attack rate of 12.8 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Eight other health districts also crossed the alert threshold of 3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in week 16.

Faced with this critical situation, the World Health Organisation, in collaboration with other technical and financial partners, is working hard to respond to the epidemic. Several interventions are underway, including case management and the mobilisation of resources to organise a vaccination campaign.

Vaccination against meningitis will be launched on 2 May 2024 in Niamey, as part of efforts to contain the spread of the disease. This new vaccine has the advantage of protecting targets against five strains (A, C, W, X and Y), which are the main causes of meningitis in Niger. Unlike previous vaccines, this one is a single dose.

The WHO is providing substantial support for case management by making medicines and inputs available. It is also supporting the mobilisation of vaccines and bearing the operational costs through a request submitted to the International Coordinating Group on Immunisation (ICG). Finally, the WHO is coordinating the efforts of partners to support the country in the fight against this epidemic. As a prelude to the vaccination campaign, the WHO has supported the Epidemic Surveillance and Response Department in organising practical training in pharmacovigilance for national supervisors of the campaign and pharmacovigilance supervisors.

WHO calls on all partners to take urgent and coordinated action to address this critical situation and protect the population from the devastating effects of meningitis.
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https://www.afro.who.int/countries/niger/news/meningitis-epidemic-who-niger-steps-response-efforts