The cause of a meningitis outbreak responsible for 123 suspected cases and 12 deaths in Oti Sud district in the northern region of Savanes has been confirmed as Streptococcus pneumoniae. The weekly WHO bulletin noted that ‘Children under five are less affected because they are covered by the routine PCV13 vaccine, which has 100% coverage in the region for the third dose’. Around 58 percent of cases have been in the 10 to 24 years of age cohort - those who missed out on the later introduction of the PCV13 vaccination into the immunisation schedule. Read more
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