Meningitis outbreak is rapidly spreading in eastern Chad, killing nearly 12% of children in Chad camps housing hundreds of thousands of war refugees from neighbouring Sudan, Medecins Sans Frontieres, MSF, said on Thursday.
Meningitis is a medical emergency characterized by sudden fever, stiff neck, headache, and confusion.
Out of 212 children admitted to MSF facilities with meningitis from March to April, 25 had died, “a shocking case fatality rate,” MSF added.
“At the same time, bed occupancy for meningitis is close to 100%, saturating our capacity and compromising care for other conditions.”
More than 1.3 million Sudanese refugees are living in neighbouring Chad, according to U.N. figures, including survivors of mass killings and famine in Darfur.
Measles is also spreading in the border town of Adre, where an increase in arrivals in recent weeks has left camps overcrowded, making it easier for diseases to spread, the medical aid group said in a statement.
“Every day, we see children arriving with severe measles, often complicated by pneumonia, requiring urgent hospitalization,” MSF medical activity manager in Adre, Isabelle Kavira, said.
Most arrived since the start of the conflict in Sudan between the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in April 2023.
Chad’s health ministry and MSF staff have given emergency vaccinations to more than 95,500 children against measles and to 337,800 people against meningitis in the most affected areas, the charity said.
Reuters/Shakirat Sadiq