Re: Sudan meningitis outbreak kills 1,000
Re: Sudan meningitis outbreak kills 1,000
The scale of the outbreak is very different from last years outbreak, so it seems:
Sudan, West Darfur State IDP camps **
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Between 1 Jan 2006 and 10 Mar 2006, 28 suspected cases including 1 death
(CFR 4 percent) have been reported in IDP camps in Zallingi, West Darfur
State. Following laboratory confirmation of _N. meningitidis_ serogroup
W135 in 2 specimens of cerebrospinal fluid, the ICG has provided 102 375
doses of trivalent ACW vaccine. A mass vaccination campaign will be
implemented this week by the Federal Ministry of Health, with support from
Medecins sans Frontieres, UNICEF and WHO.
Archive Number 20060321.0880
Published Date 21-MAR-2006
Subject PRO/EDR> Meningococcal disease update 2006 (05)
MENINGOCOCCAL DISEASE UPDATE 2006 (05)
**************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>
In this update:
[1] African meningitis belt
[2] Sudan (multistate)
[3] Sudan (IDP camp, West Darfur)
[4] India (Delhi)
*****
[1] African meningitis belt
Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2006
From: Marianne Hopp <mjhopp12@yahoo.com>
Source: WHO Outbreak Report [edited]
<http://www.who.int/csr/don/2006_03_21/en/index.html>
During the first 10 weeks of the 2006 meningitis season, outbreaks in 32
districts in 7 countries in the African Meningitis Belt have occurred. In
these affected countries (see table below) a total of 5719 suspected cases,
including 580 deaths, have been reported to WHO. Cases have occurred in 2
foci, 1 in West Africa, affecting Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali and
Niger, and characterized by the predominance of _N. meningitidis_ serogroup A.
Outbreaks in the 2nd epidemic foci, in eastern Africa, affecting Kenya,
Sudan and Uganda and are mainly caused by _N. meningitidis_ serogroup W135.
Suspected meningitis cases, deaths, and predominant pathogens reported to
WHO by affected countries in Africa, as of 17 Mar 2006
Country / Cases / Deaths / Predominant Serotype
Burkina Faso * / 3636 / 399 / A
Cote d'Ivoire / 130 / 40 / A
Kenya / 74 / 15 / W135
Mali / 160 / 9 / A
Niger / 614 / 44 / A
Sudan W. Darfur camps ** / 28 / 1 / W135
Sudan other states / 26 / 23 / A
Uganda Gulu district *** / 37 / 5 / W135
Uganda other districts / 514 / 44 / A
Total / 5719 /580
Major vaccination campaigns are currently under way in the following 3
outbreaks:
Burkina Faso*
------------
Between 1 Jan and 5 Mar 2006, 3636 suspected cases including 399 deaths
(case fatality rate, CFR, 11 percent) have been reported. The epidemic
threshold has been crossed in 12 districts. All the 115 specimens of
cerebrospinal fluid found positive for _N. meningitidis_ by latex and/or
culture belonged to serogroup A. The International Coordinating
Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision for Epidemic Meningitis Control has
provided 1 800 000 doses of bivalent AC vaccine. The vaccination campaigns
in the affected districts are currently being implemented with the support
of WHO and partners, including the European Commission Humanitarian Aid
Department (ECHO), and Medecins sans Frontieres.
Sudan, West Darfur State IDP camps **
----------------------------------
Between 1 Jan 2006 and 10 Mar 2006, 28 suspected cases including 1 death
(CFR 4 percent) have been reported in IDP camps in Zallingi, West Darfur
State. Following laboratory confirmation of _N. meningitidis_ serogroup
W135 in 2 specimens of cerebrospinal fluid, the ICG has provided 102 375
doses of trivalent ACW vaccine. A mass vaccination campaign will be
implemented this week by the Federal Ministry of Health, with support from
Medecins sans Frontieres, UNICEF and WHO.
Uganda, Gulu district ***
---------------------
Between 9 Jan and 5 Mar 2006, 37 suspected cases including 5 deaths (CFR
13.5 percent) have been reported in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP)
camps in Gulu district. Among 7 specimens of cerebrospinal fluid found
positive for _N. meningitidis_ by culture, 4 belong to serogroup W135.
The ICG has provided 360 000 doses of trivalent vaccine. The immunization
campaign, due to start on 22 Mar, will be implemented by the Ministry of
Health, with support from Medecins sans Frontieres, UNICEF and WHO.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
******
[2] Sudan (Multistate)
Date: Sun, 19 Mar 2006
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: WHO [edited]
<http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/RMOI-6N35YB?OpenDocument>
A national task force under the chairmanship of the Federal Ministry of
Health together with WHO, UNICEF and NGOs has been established after
reports of outbreaks of meningococcal meningitis in the country.
As of 16 Mar 2006, 526 cases with 23 deaths (case fatality rate of 4.37
percent) have been reported across the country. The epidemic thresholds in
4 States (Blue Nile, Gedaref, Kassala and South Kordofan) have, so far, been crossed.
Cultures conducted at NAMRU-3, a WHO collaborating centre in
Cairo, have isolated the _Neisseria meningitidis_ serogroup A as the
causative strain for the outbreak of meningococcal meningitis. Mass
vaccination campaigns with bivalent vaccines (A/C) are continuing in South
Kordofan as well as in Gedaref State. 2 vaccination campaigns have already
been completed in the Blue Nile and in Kassala States.
Another outbreak of meningococcal meningitis disease caused by _Neisseria
meningitidis_ serogroup W135 has been confirmed (by laboratory culture) in
the Hamadyia IDP camp in Zalingei in West Darfur and as of 10 Mar 2006, 28
cases of meningococcal meningitis disease and 1 death (case fatality rate
of 3.57 percent) have been reported to WHO through the Early Warning and
Alert Response Surveillance (EWARS) system of Darfur.
The national task force is coordinating the public health response to the
outbreak and WHO requested trivalent vaccines (ACW) from the Internal
Coordination Group (ICG) for the outbreak in Darfur. The request was
approved and the vaccines have arrived in Khartoum. The vaccination
campaign is expected to start later this week.
WHO Sudan is providing technical guidance for outbreak control and case
management of the disease in addition to drugs and other emergency supplies for outbreak investigation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3] Sudan (IDP camp, West Darfur)
Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2006 09:21:16 -0500
From: George Robertson <geo456@adelphia.net>
Source: African News Dimension [edited]
<http://www.andnetwork.com/app?service=direct/1/Home/$StorySummary$0.$DirectLink$2&sp=l25353>
A vaccination campaign against meningitis will start this week in western
Sudan following the confirmation of an outbreak in Hamadyia camp for
internally displaced persons in Zalinger, West Darfur, said the WHO on Sun,
19 Mar 2006.
Some 28 cases of meningitis and one death had been reported through an
early-warning system by 10 Mar 2006, WHO said in a statement. The disease
had also been reported in other regions of Sudan.
As of 16 March, 526 cases with 23 deaths had been reported countrywide, including in Blue Nile,
Gedaref, Kassala and South Kordofan States.
Mass vaccination campaigns were going on in South Kordofan and Gedaref
while 2 campaigns had been completed in Blue Nile and Kassala.
A task force chaired by the Sudanese health ministry, together with WHO,
the UN Children's Agency (UNICEF) and nongovernmental organisations is
coordinating the response to the outbreak.
In Feb 2006, WHO reported more than 100 cases of suspected meningitis,
including 15 fatalities, in 6 Sudanese states, including Khartoum, Blue
Nile, Kassala, Sennar, West Darfur and Gedaref.
Sudan is considered part of the "African meningitis belt", a group of
countries particularly vulnerable to the disease.
In 2005, 3703 people were
infected in 14 Sudanese states, of whom 124 died.
--
George A. Robertson
<geo456@adelphia.net>
http://www.promedmail.org/pls/prome...CHECK_DISPLAY,F2400_P1202_PUB_MAIL_ID:X,32425
Edit: see more reports from last year from Sudan (Meningitis and BF) here:
http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=489
