A UN statement made available to journalists here Friday stated that diagnosed meningitis cases and some deaths have been recorded in Benin, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Togo.
 
The statement released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), warned that "the highly contagious disease can spread even more rapidly in coming months during the traditional annual migration period within the region".
 
"Since the start of the year, 798 people have died and 8,557 cases have been recorded across nine countries that form part of the so- called meningitis belt, a sub-Saharan region stretching from Senegal to Ethiopia that is particularly prone to epidemics and is home to an estimated 300 million people," it stated.
 
It cited the worst affected country as Burkina Faso, where 583 people have died and more than 7,300 cases diagnosed between 1 January and 11 March, while some 22 of Burkina Faso's 55 districts are now classified as being in a state of epidemic.
 
The UN World Health Organisation (WHO) had already launched an appeal for $3 million for international assistance to curb the situation in Burkina Faso.
 
Experts said that meningitis bacteria, which affect the lining surrounding the brain and spinal cord, are transmitted from person to person through droplets of respiratory or throat secretions. Close and prolonged contact such as kissing, sneezing and coughing and sharing eating or drinking utensils promotes the spread of the disease.
 
Symptoms include a stiff neck, high fever, sensitivity to light, confusion, headaches and vomiting and a small percentage of survivors can suffer brain damage or hearing loss or acquire a learning disability. 24 March 2007 - PANA 

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