Currently, Nigeria is having the worst outbreak of bacterial meningitis in almost 10 years, involving 23 states, 13,420 suspected cases, and 1,069 deaths, as of May 9.
Bacterial meningitis outbreaks frequently occur in West Africa. The area most frequently struck by epidemics of bacterial meningitis is in the sub-Saharan region of Africa. This includes 26 countries and over 400 million people. Epidemics most often occur in the dry season from December-June. Neisseria meningitides serogroup A historically accounts for approximately 90% of the cases.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends quadrivalent vaccines (protects against four serogroups A, C, W, and Y) for individuals traveling or living in countries in which meningococcal disease is hyperendemic or epidemic.
