Reporter: SS. Kurniawan | Editor: SS Kurniawan
KONTAN.CO.ID – KINSHASA. The Democratic Republic of the Congo announced an outbreak of meningitis in the Northeastern Province of Tshopo, with 261 cases and 129 deaths, a high death rate of nearly 50%.
Confirmatory tests carried out by the Pasteur Institute in Paris detected Neisseria meningitidis, one of the most common types of bacterial meningitis with the potential to cause major epidemics.
The health authorities of the Democratic Republic of Congo have deployed an initial emergency team, and with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO), efforts are underway to scale up the response quickly.
Crisis response committees have been formed in Banalia, the community affected by the outbreak, as well as in Kisangani, the capital of Tshopo, to accelerate efforts to control the meningitis outbreak.
WHO has provided medical supplies in Banalia and plans to deploy more experts and resources.
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“Meningitis is a serious infection and a major public health challenge,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, in a press release Wednesday (8/9) received by Kontan.co.id.
“We are moving quickly, delivering medicine and deploying experts to support the government’s efforts to control the outbreak in the shortest possible time,” he said.
African meningitis belt
More than 100 patients are already receiving treatment at home and at the health center in Banalia.
Meningitis is transmitted between people through respiratory droplets or throat secretions from an infected person. Close and prolonged contact or staying in close proximity to an infected person facilitates the spread of the disease.
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