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Thursday 07 May 2015 - 11:37 Makkah mean time-18-7-1436
Niger is frequently prone to meningitis epidemics and international aid agencies often embark on inoculation campaigns
Niamey, Niger (IINA) - At least 265 people have died so far this year in a meningitis epidemic in Niger amid a shortage of vaccines needed to prevent the disease's spread, Reuters reported citing the West African nation's health minister.
Some 3,856 cases of meningitis were recorded between Jan. 1 and May 4, with five of the country's eight regions, including the capital Niamey, particularly hard hit, Health Minister Mano Aghali said in an address broadcast on state-owned television.
The government shut all schools in the region around Niamey and launched a campaign to vaccinate children aged 2 to 15 in April at a time when the outbreak had killed 85 people.
"Niger is facing shortage of vaccines on the international market," Aghali said. "We only have 50 percent of what's needed to cover our vaccination targets."
Meningococcal meningitis infects the thin lining surrounding the brain and spinal cord. It can cause severe brain damage, deafness, epilepsy or necrosis and if untreated is fatal in 50 percent of cases.
Authorities said the current outbreak included the W135, "C" strain and pneumococcal kinds of meningitis.
SM/IINA
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