TITLE:
Epidemiological Dynamics of a Bacterial Meningitis Outbreak in Two Districts in Northern Ghana
AUTHORS:
Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe, Gideon Kwarteng Acheampong
KEYWORDS:
Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis, Pneumococcus, Meningococcus, Climatic Factors
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.3 No.10,
October
12,
2016
ABSTRACT: Background: The Northern region of Ghana experienced an outbreak of bacterial meningitis between December, 2015 and May, 2016 with majority of cases recorded in Bole and Sawla-Tuna-Kalba districts. The epidemiological features of this outbreak were explored in these two districts. Methods: Data on the meningitis outbreak that occurred in the Northern region of Ghana between December, 2015 and May, 2016 was obtained from the Ghana Health Service’s Department of Disease Surveillance. Specifically that on Sawla-Tuna-Kalba and Bole districts was extracted and analyzed. Results: Two different meningitis outbreaks occurred in two districts in Northern Region. Bole district had an outbreak due to S. pneumoniae while N. meningitids (N.m. W135) caused an outbreak in Sawla-Tuna-Kalba district. S.pneumoniae cases peaked earlier than N. meningitidis. The highest number of cases occurred in age groups 6-14 years followed by 15-44 years with deaths occurring in under 5 years and above 60 years. There was an association between outcome and age group, at a p value of 0.027. Conclusion: Bacterial meningitis due to S. pneumoniae is increasingly becoming a major cause of meningitis outbreaks in Ghana. The differential periods of onset of pneumococcus and meningococcus outbreaks suggest that climatic factors responsible for these two diseases may be different and therefore it is prudent for studies to be carried to define more specific weather conditions favoring the spread of these two diseases in Ghana. With the extreme age groups recording fatalities, there is the need to give children and the elderly more attention to mitigate the effects of any future outbreak.