Meningitis epidemic confirmed in southern Sudan-WHO

GENEVA, Nov 22 (Reuters) A meningitis epidemic has broken out in southern Sudan, with 16 deaths among 231 suspected cases since September, the World Health Organisation said.

The outbreak is in Greater Yei County, in the Central Equatorial State, where an investigation is under way and a vaccination programme targeting 300,000 people is planned, the United Nations agency said.

''The epidemic threshold was crossed in this county during the last week of October,'' the WHO said in a statement.

The infection of the thin lining that surrounds the brain and the spinal cord kills up to 10 percent of those affected, typically within 24-48 hours, even when it is diagnosed early and treated, according to the WHO.

Symptoms are a stiff neck, high fever, headaches and vomiting.

Sudan is in Africa's meningitis belt, which stretches from Senegal to Ethiopia. Southern Sudan is emerging from more than two decades of civil war which weakened healthcare systems and disrupted immunisation programmes.

REUTERS DKS PM0430