Both Niger and Burkina Faso lie in Africa�s poor

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meningitis belt.

now add the bird flu in the mixing pot 

, and  walah! where talking pandemic

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L05316469.htm
Niger worried by latest Africa meningitis outbreak
    05 Apr 2006 17:58:43 GMT

	Source: Reuters
NIAMEY, April 5 (Reuters) - Niger became the second West African
country to report a large outbreak of meningitis this year Neighbouring Burkina Faso announced at
the weekend that 784 people have died so far this year of meningitis,
roughly double the number in the same period of 2005., with
authorities expressing concern on Wednesday over a strain of the
disease which they cannot vaccinate against.
At least 109 people died from among 1,550 confirmed cases of meningitis
between Jan. 1 and March 26, according to Rabi Maitournam, spokeswoman
for Niger's National System of Health Information (SNIS). The figures showed a tripling in infections from the same period of last year, Maitournam said.
But she noted that the 7 percent mortality rate of those infected was
within the limit of 10 percent set by the World Health Organisation for
the effective handling of an outbreak. However, the appearance of a new meningococcus -- a type of bacteria which causes meningitis -- has concerned authorities.
"But we are worried because until now we have only had the
meningococcus type A for which there is a vaccine which has been
tested. But in Say, it is meningococcus X which is present and we do
not have a vaccine," Maitournam told state radio, referring to the Say
region in western Niger. Both Niger
and Burkina Faso lie in Africa's poor "meningitis belt" which runs
along the arid region south of the Saharan desert from Senegal in the
west to Ethiopia in the east, with a population numbering around 300
million. Meningitis -- an inflammation of the membranes covering
the brain and spinal cord -- is often transmitted by coughing or
sneezing and people with reduced immunity are more at risk from the
disease. In the whole of 2005, 143 people died from the disease
in Niger. The arid Sahel country was also struck last year by chronic
food shortages which left some 3.6 million people hungry after a poor
harvest hit by drought and locusts.

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/03050604/H5N1_Burkina_Faso.html

      H5N1
Bird Flu in Burkina Faso?   

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chargingbear Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List V.I.P. Member Joined: March 22 2006 Status: Offline Points: 398	Post Options Post Reply Quote chargingbear Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Both Niger and Burkina Faso lie in Africa�s poor Posted: April 05 2006 at 8:59pm
	meningitis belt. now add the bird flu in the mixing pot , and walah! where talking pandemic http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L05316469.htm Niger worried by latest Africa meningitis outbreak 05 Apr 2006 17:58:43 GMT Source: Reuters NIAMEY, April 5 (Reuters) - Niger became the second West African country to report a large outbreak of meningitis this year Neighbouring Burkina Faso announced at the weekend that 784 people have died so far this year of meningitis, roughly double the number in the same period of 2005., with authorities expressing concern on Wednesday over a strain of the disease which they cannot vaccinate against. At least 109 people died from among 1,550 confirmed cases of meningitis between Jan. 1 and March 26, according to Rabi Maitournam, spokeswoman for Niger's National System of Health Information (SNIS). The figures showed a tripling in infections from the same period of last year, Maitournam said. But she noted that the 7 percent mortality rate of those infected was within the limit of 10 percent set by the World Health Organisation for the effective handling of an outbreak. However, the appearance of a new meningococcus -- a type of bacteria which causes meningitis -- has concerned authorities. "But we are worried because until now we have only had the meningococcus type A for which there is a vaccine which has been tested. But in Say, it is meningococcus X which is present and we do not have a vaccine," Maitournam told state radio, referring to the Say region in western Niger. Both Niger and Burkina Faso lie in Africa's poor "meningitis belt" which runs along the arid region south of the Saharan desert from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east, with a population numbering around 300 million. Meningitis -- an inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord -- is often transmitted by coughing or sneezing and people with reduced immunity are more at risk from the disease. In the whole of 2005, 143 people died from the disease in Niger. The arid Sahel country was also struck last year by chronic food shortages which left some 3.6 million people hungry after a poor harvest hit by drought and locusts. http://www.recombinomics.com/News/03050604/H5N1_Burkina_Faso.html H5N1 Bird Flu in Burkina Faso?