Meningitis epidemics shift in sub-Saharan belt

Abstract

Meningococcal meningitis (MCM) poses a serious threat to public health in Africa. Epidemics appear irregularly every 5–12 years, especially in the regions across sub-Saharan ‘meningitis belt’. This study investigated the long-term spatiotemporal dynamics of MCM. It appears that dominant epidemic outbreaks in the meningitis belt spread from west to east over the study period 2006–2016.