Cape Town - The World Health Organization(WHO) has revealed that the lack of vaccination in millions of children for meningitis type A due to the Covid-19 pandemic could see a rise in infections if not controlled.
The WHO, together with partners, are now aiming to stop bacterial meningitis outbreaks by 2030, which has been overshadowed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
They found that meningitis control was reduced by 50% in 2020 compared with 2019 and showed a slight improvement by 2021.
They said the threat was so serious after an outbreak in 1996 which infected more than 250 000 people and killed over 25 000 in just a few months.
The reaction is now to vaccinate 50 million children under the age of 12 against meningitis type A.
The WHO said in a statement: “With the Covid-19 pandemic delaying meningitis vaccination campaigns for more than 50 million children in Africa, the region is at a heightened risk of outbreaks of meningitis type A, which has nearly been eliminated on the continent.
“In a race against time, WHO and partners have launched a roadmap aimed at stopping bacterial meningitis outbreaks by 2030, urging countries to implement it rapidly before the start of the meningitis season in January 2023.
“The pandemic severely disrupted meningitis prevention and control services, with disease surveillance, laboratory confirmation of cases and outbreak investigations all steeply declining.
“Benin, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Nigeria, and Togo delayed campaigns with the MenAfriVac vaccine aimed at protecting a total of 50 million children under 12 years of age against meningitis type A.”
They said historically, meningitis type A was the highest cause of meningitis outbreaks in Africa.
In 2010, Africa embarked on a journey to defeat meningitis type A when an effective vaccine, MenAfriVac, was developed and deployed, and the vaccine was developed in response to a plea from African health ministers after the meningitis type A outbreak in 1996, they further stated.
With the WHO and partners’ support, more than 350 million people in 24 high-risk African countries have received the MenAfriVac vaccine since 2010.
The WHO said the control of the virus was important: “While meningitis type A accounted for 90% of cases and deaths before 2010, no new cases have been reported since 2017.
“Controlling this lethal form of meningitis has led to fewer deaths from meningitis type A and other types of the micro-organism.
“While 50% of people with meningitis died in 2004, in 2021, 95% of cases survived.”
Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, added the Covid-19 pandemic had slowed down the success rate of the virus: “The defeat of meningitis type A is one of Africa’s biggest success stories in health, but the fallout from Covid-19 hampers our drive to eliminate this bacterial infection as a public health threat once and for all, and could lead to catastrophic resurgences.
“In prioritising the response to Covid-19, we must not lose our focus on other health problems. I urge countries to ramp up implementation of the new WHO regional roadmap now, before the meningitis season begins in January 2023.”
Moeti said millions of people should remember outbreaks affected the population and lifestyles: “More than 400 million Africans are still at risk of seasonal meningitis outbreaks, but the disease has remained off the radar for too long.
“Aside from the toll on human life, outbreaks negatively impact health systems, our fragile economies, and impoverish entire populations forced to contend with multiple health and socio-economic challenges.”
The WHO explained that meningitis is caused by inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord and is transmitted via a sneeze, saliva or phlegm from the nose and throat of infected persons.
Acute bacterial meningitis is one of the deadliest and most disabling forms of the illness.
It can cause death within 24 hours and leaves one in five infected people with lifelong disability after infection.
Although meningitis affects all ages, young children are most at risk, with around half of cases and deaths occurring in children under 5 years of age.