Uganda appeals for Meningitis vaccines
Feb 25, 2007
THE Government has requested the World Health Organisation (WHO) for more anti-meningitis vaccine to control the disease in West Nile.
By Alfred Wasike
THE Government has requested the World Health Organisation (WHO) for more anti-meningitis vaccine.
“We are short of the vaccine. We have requested WHO in Geneva for more.
What we are using is only enough for one sub-county, or about 15,000 people. We expect another consignment in three days,†state health minister for primary health care Dr. Emmanuel Otaala said yesterday.
Meanwhile, the Government is relying on early case detection, surveillance and treatment. “We have 1,400 doses of oily chloramphenical for treatment,†Otaala added.
The areas of focus, he said, were Adjumani, Arua and Nebbi districts, which has an average of 250,000 people each.
The mass immunisation campaign targets people between two and 30 years of age. “But if we discover that there are people over 30 years who have contracted the disease, then we shall include older age groups as well.â€
He said the deaths in Masindi recently were linked to suspected pneumonic plague.
West Nile region and Kotido district have recorded 110 deaths since the killer epidemic broke out early this month, while about 3,000 cases have been reported.
Most affected districts were Adjumani, Arua and Nyadri districts, which recorded 1,777 cases and 51 deaths, 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.
Meanwhile, the meningitis outbreak that has swept through southern Sudan since January has continued to spread, killing 172 people, WHO reported.
“Last year, we had just under 5,000 cases but only in four states, now it has spread further into eight states,†said Philippe Verstraeten, of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan.
Juba has had 165 reported cases this year, according to WHO, while 1,800 cases have been identified in the whole of South Sudan.
Meningitis outbreaks affect Sudan during the dry season as part of the “meningitis belt†which runs from East to West Africa. Burkina Faso in West Africa has called for international help in tackling a meningitis outbreak that has already killed 258.
In Sudan, the disease has spread more rapidly since a north-south peace deal ended the country’s two decade-long civil war in January 2005. “More peace (has led to), more access and more movement than before, disease is spreading further now,†said Verstraeten.
It accounts for more than half the cases of the disease worldwide each year.
The demand for the vaccine is high in all affected countries.
The South Sudan government has requested over 800,000 doses.
THE Government has requested the World Health Organisation (WHO) for more anti-meningitis vaccine.
“We are short of the vaccine. We have requested WHO in Geneva for more.
What we are using is only enough for one sub-county, or about 15,000 people. We expect another consignment in three days,†state health minister for primary health care Dr. Emmanuel Otaala said yesterday.
Meanwhile, the Government is relying on early case detection, surveillance and treatment. “We have 1,400 doses of oily chloramphenical for treatment,†Otaala added.
The areas of focus, he said, were Adjumani, Arua and Nebbi districts, which has an average of 250,000 people each.
The mass immunisation campaign targets people between two and 30 years of age. “But if we discover that there are people over 30 years who have contracted the disease, then we shall include older age groups as well.â€
He said the deaths in Masindi recently were linked to suspected pneumonic plague.
West Nile region and Kotido district have recorded 110 deaths since the killer epidemic broke out early this month, while about 3,000 cases have been reported.
Most affected districts were Adjumani, Arua and Nyadri districts, which recorded 1,777 cases and 51 deaths, 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.
Meanwhile, the meningitis outbreak that has swept through southern Sudan since January has continued to spread, killing 172 people, WHO reported.
“Last year, we had just under 5,000 cases but only in four states, now it has spread further into eight states,†said Philippe Verstraeten, of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan.
Juba has had 165 reported cases this year, according to WHO, while 1,800 cases have been identified in the whole of South Sudan.
Meningitis outbreaks affect Sudan during the dry season as part of the “meningitis belt†which runs from East to West Africa. Burkina Faso in West Africa has called for international help in tackling a meningitis outbreak that has already killed 258.
In Sudan, the disease has spread more rapidly since a north-south peace deal ended the country’s two decade-long civil war in January 2005. “More peace (has led to), more access and more movement than before, disease is spreading further now,†said Verstraeten.
It accounts for more than half the cases of the disease worldwide each year.
The demand for the vaccine is high in all affected countries.
The South Sudan government has requested over 800,000 doses.