By John Odyek, Felix Osike and Fred Ouma

The death toll of meningitis in West Nile region and Kotido district has gone up to 110 since the epidemic broke out early this month, while 2,923 cases have been reported.

Schools, markets and disco halls have been closed in the six affected districts of West-Nile, while churches have been told to reduce the number of services in a bid to stem the spread of the disease.

Most affected districts were Arua and Maracha-Terego districts, which recorded 1777 cases and 51 dead, followed by Koboko (431 cases and 20 dead) and Yumbe (300 cases and 14 dead). Kotido reported a total of 158 cases since the beginning of the outbreak, with 10 deaths so far.

State minister for health Emmanuel Otaala told Parliament on Thursday that the epidemic was going down in West-Nile region generally, though in Adjumani it was still on the rise.

“Cases are still on the rise in Adjumani, while Yumbe and Moyo districts have registered an insignificant reduction in the last week”, he said. A decline was also reported in Koboko, Arua, Maracha and Terego districts.

Otaala said the Government was carrying out mass immunisation, community sensitisation and investigations, while supplying drugs to the affected districts to contain the epidemic. “The disease attacks the brain and spinal cord; its symptoms include a stiff neck, vomiting, headache and fever. It breaks out once in 10 years”, he said.

Meanwhile, medical aid-agency, Médecins Sans Frontières or MSF, warned that efforts to bring the meningitis outbreak under control could be hampered by a potential vaccine shortage.

“Ten (African) countries in the so-called meningitis belt have reported cases and some of these have been the new serotype A strain, which means we shall have epidemics," said Guillaume le Duc, MSF press officer.

According to Le Duc, the international coordinating group on vaccine provision for meningitis had only seven million doses left.

“In Uganda, already up to a million doses have been used, Outbreaks have also been reported in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and in South Sudan, in the areas of Yei and Bahr al-Ghazal,” Le Duc said.

He expressed doubt over the world’s capacity to replenish the vaccine.

“Sanofi Pasteur, the sole provider of the vaccine, announced in May that it was stopping production altogether while it transfers its production to another site. As a result, there will be no capacity to produce additional vaccines this year.”

However, a new consignment of 300,000 doses of vaccines arrived in the country on Friday, procured by the World Health Organisation. The vaccines will be transported to Yumbe, Moyo and Adjumani on Saturday and mass vaccination is set to start on Monday, targeting people between two and 30 years - 500,000 in total.

“Below two years, vaccination is not effective, while above 30 years most people are immune and the chance of them being infected is low,” health minister Dr. Stephen Mallinga, explained at a press conference upon return from a four-day tour of the north.

MSF and the health ministry jointly set up a ‘cold-chain’ in Arua town, fully equipped with 14 freezers and fridges to produce almost 450kg of ice every day to preserve the vaccine.