Sudan meningitis outbreak strikes 2,011, kills 17 -WHO

JUBA, Sudan, Jan 22 (Reuters) A meningitis outbreak sweeping through southern Sudan has killed 17 people and infected 2,011, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said today, adding it had enough vaccines to contain the outbreak.

Yesterday, the governor of south Sudan's central Warap state said in a statement that at least 1,000 people had died in one week in an outbreak of meningitis and another unknown disease.

But Abdullahi Ahmed, head of WHO in south Sudan, said today: ''As of January 17 the number of cases was 2,011 of which only 17 died and that includes Central Equatoria states and Warap states.'' He said health officials had not confirmed any disease other than meningitis but laboratory tests were under way.

Ahmed said medical workers had enough vaccines to cover the most affected county in Warap state.

South Sudan, after suffering decades of civil war, has little or no infra-structure and is particularly at risk to outbreaks of disease.

Meningitis outbreaks affect Sudan during the dry season, as part of the ''meningitis belt'' which runs from East to West Africa. It accounts for more than half the cases of the disease worldwide each year.

Meningitis is an infection of the thin lining that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. It can cause complications including brain damage and deafness. About 5 per cent to 10 per cent of patients die from the illness, according to the WHO.

Hundreds of thousands of southern Sudanese returning home after a January 2005 peace deal are especially at risk because they live in crowded camps where infectious diseases like meningitis thrive.

REUTERS SP HT1500