BURKINA FASO: Worst of the meningitis outbreak is over, officials say

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BURKINA FASO: Worst of the meningitis outbreak is over, officials say

OUAGADOUGOU, 23 May (IRIN) - Burkina Faso will host international meningitis
experts to a meeting in July to discuss and adopt a global response to
recurrent outbreaks of the disease, Jean Gabriel Wango, Secretary General of
the Health Ministry told a news conference on Thursday.

The conference to be held under the auspices of the World Health
Organization (WHO) would bring together experts from "Africa's meningitis
belt" which consists of 15 countries where seasonal outbreaks occur, other
African countries, researchers and WHO, the official said in the capital,
Ouagadougou.

Burkina Faso which is located in the meningitis belt was hit this year by an
outbreak of a new type of the disease, the W135 which is belived to have
been introduced by Muslim pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia. More than
64% of deaths were attributed to W135.

The outbreak is now however showing a downward trend. "We can say that the
most difficult period has gone," Wango said. "Since 19 May, Burkina Faso has
been out of an epidemic situation," he added.

He however cautioned that it was necessary to watch the declining trend for
two to three successive weeks before a final confirmation of its status can
be made. Last week there were 191 cases and 26 deaths, giving a total death
toll of 1,473 persons out of 12,784 cases to date.

Burkina Faso's government has spent one billion cfa (US $1.4 million) to
contain the epidemic, while donors contributed an equivalent amount in
logistics, medicine and money, Wango said. The country also agreed to
conduct research on the 135 type meningitis with support from the Epicentre,
Medecins Sans Frontieres, WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and
Research on Meningococci, Norway, the Atlanta Centres for Disease Control
and Prevention an The Office for Preventive Medicine (La direction pour la
medecine preventive).

For the time being, authorities said, no massive vaccination against the
W135 would be conmducted because it would cost 61 billion cfa ($84.7
million) to vaccinate 95% of the country's 11 million population.

The worst meningitis epidemic that hit Burkina Faso occurred in 1996. It
killed 4,363 people out of 42,907 cases. In 1997 and 2001 more epidemics
claimed 2,533 and 1,769 lives out of 22,293 and 12,790 cases, respectively.

[ENDS]

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