The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced that the introduction of MenAfriVac vaccine for treating meningococcal A meningitis -a bacterial infection of the lining of the brain and spinal cord- is bringing Africa close to wiping the disease. The disease is highly feared on the continent as it can kill or cause severe brain damage within hours while disabling young people every year. “The use of MenAfriVac has led to the control and near elimination of deadly meningitis A disease in the African “meningitis belt.”
In 2013, only 4 laboratory-confirmed cases of meningitis A were reported by the 26 countries in the belt, which stretches across the continent from Senegal to Ethiopia,” the WHO said in a statement yesterday. The meningitis A vaccine for Africa, MenAfriVac, was developed in response to a plea for help from ministers of health in sub-Saharan Africa after an outbreak of meningitis A in 1996 infected over 250 000 people and killed over 25 000 in just a few months.
The vaccine costs less than US$ 0.50 a dose and wherever it has been rolled out, meningitis A has disappeared. “We have nearly eliminated meningitis A epidemics from Africa, but the fact is the job is not yet done,” said Dr Jean-Marie Okwo-Bele, Director of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals at WHO.
Source:Leadership Online
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