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The African meningitis belt is a region in sub-Saharan Africa where the rate of incidence of meningitis is very high. It extends from Senegal to Ethiopia, and the primary cause of meningitis in the belt is Neisseria meningitidis. The belt was first proposed by Léon Lapeyssonnie of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1963.
The 2009–2010 West African meningitis outbreak was an epidemic of bacterial meningitis which occurred in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria since January 2009, [1] [2] an annual risk in the African meningitis belt. A total of 13,516 people have been infected with meningitis, and 931 have died. [1]
In 2013, only four laboratory-confirmed cases of meningitis A were reported by the 26 countries in the meningitis belt. But scientists warned that unless countries within the belt incorporate the meningitis A vaccine in routine immunization schedules for infants, there is a risk that the disease could rebound in 15 years' time.
The distribution of meningococcal meningitis in the African meningitis belt. The importance of meningitis disease is as significant in Africa as HIV, TB and malaria. Cases of meningococcemia leading to severe meningoencephalitis are common among young children and the elderly. Deaths occurring in less than 24 hours are more likely during the ...
Outbreaks of bacterial meningitis occur between December and June each year in an area of sub-Saharan Africa known as the meningitis belt. [13] Smaller outbreaks may also occur in other areas of the world. [13] The word meningitis comes from the Greek μῆνιγξ meninx, 'membrane', and the medical suffix -itis, 'inflammation'. [14] [15]
It is especially formulated for use in developing countries, aimed at protecting populations during meningitis outbreaks, particularly in high-risk regions like the African meningitis belt. Meningococcal meningitis is a bacterial infection caused by the Neisseria meningitidis bacterium, commonly known as meningococcus.
Rates in the African meningitis belt were as high as 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 100 before introduction of a vaccine in 2010. [7] The incidence of meningococcal disease is highest among infants (children younger than one year old) whose immune system is relatively immature.
The Meningitis Vaccine Project is an effort to eliminate the meningitis epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa by developing a new meningococcal vaccine.The meningitis problem in that area is caused by a strain of meningitis called "meningitis A", which is present only in the African meningitis belt.