20101210
africanews

A new vaccine against meningitis will soon be deployed in Africa, a continent where the disease kills thousands of people each year in addition to causing brain damage to thousands of others.

Meningitis affects more than two dozen countries in sub-Saharan Africa. A new vaccine designed specifically for Africa was approved in June and is being rolled out in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

Only Burkina Faso, the World Health Organization says that 10 000 health workers will vaccinate 12 million people by the end of the year.

The new vaccine is much more affordable than those offered in developed countries, since it costs less than 50 cents a dose compared to between U.S. $ 10 and $ 100 for other vaccines.

It also provides protection for a period of ten years instead of only three.

The new vaccine is a partnership signed in 2001 between the World Health Organization, the Serum Institute of India and PATH, a non-profit organization founded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Last year, 88,000 cases of meningitis were recorded in sub-Saharan Africa, causing 5000 deaths. The new vaccine targets meningitis type A, which causes 90 percent of epidemics in Africa.

Up to 20 percent of survivors may suffer chronic squealer such as brain damage or hearing loss.