Meningitis Epidemics Declared in Niger, Nigeria

Although many countries in the sub-Saharan meningitis belt continue to report sporadic cases of meningitis, 3 districts have reached epidemic levels of meningitis transmission. The affected areas include Niamey in Niger and Nafada and Jama’are in Gombe and Bauchi states in Nigeria.

Advice

The risk of exposure for the general traveller will vary from place to place, but it may be high in some localities.

Travellers to African countries in the sub-Saharan meningitis belt, e.g., Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Sudan, Sudan, Kenya, Togo and Uganda during the dry season (December to June) can reduce the risk of exposure to meningitis by obtaining a vaccination against meningitis prior to travelling in these countries.