Meningitis Outbreak in Benin

On 6 January 2019, the Ministry of Health of Benin notified the World Health Organization of an outbreak of meningitis in Banikoara Commune, Alibori Department in Northern Benin. The current outbreak began in mid-December 2019; and from 9 December 2019 to 8 January 2020, a cumulative total of 77 cases with 13 deaths were reported.

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.