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West Africa ‘well-prepared' to meet meningitis outbreak
Meningitis is spreading across the region with the death toll reaching 422 since the beginning of 2008 yet, contrary to several recent reports, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said the figures are lower than previous years and that West Africa is well-prepared to contain the disease.
“The International Coordination Group (ICG) is well-stocked with seven million vaccine doses at the ready to supplement existing government stocks if needed,” Katya Fernandez-Vegas, technical officer for WHO in Geneva told IRIN. The ICG was set up in 1995 to ensure meningitis vaccines are used where they are most needed.
“We were expecting 2008 to be a big epidemic year,” Fernandez-Vegas added, “but so far it has not been as bad as the last two years' outbreaks.”
