Meningitis epidemic: World Health Organization (WHO) Niger steps up response efforts

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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.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO) – Niger.

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