Meningitis: hundreds dead

Hundreds dead in Rwanda as meningitis outbreak spreads

The strain is one of the most virulent – meningitis C, which can kill within 24 hours after the onset of the first symptoms. Over 200 people have been killed in the present epidemic which appeared two months ago.

Meningitis C is a killer. The appearance of sudden splitting headaches, stiffness of the neck, high fever and vomiting, followed some hours later by a loss of consciousness, denounce the symptoms of the disease which can strike and kill in the same day. Patients must seek medical treatment immediately after the onset of the first symptoms, otherwise brain damage can become irreparable or worse, a generalised sepsis sets in.

The epidemic has been concentrated in southern Rwanda, where medical authorities have decided to vaccinate all the local population. The World Health Organisation and the movement Medecins Sans Frontiers have promised large quantities of vaccine.

Timofei BYELO PRAVDA.Ru