Meningitis during COVID -19 pandemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A call for concern

Abstract

Meningitis is a severe infection and a major public health challenge. The meningitis outbreak which had resurfaced amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been further stressing the health care systems that are already overburdened with detecting, preventing, and treating the current coronavirus disease. The recent meningitis outbreak in the DRC has resulted in a high case fatality ratio of 50% - an extremely worrying concern. Robust strategies are hence needed to curb the spread of the disease amid the COVID-19 pandemic, to prevent further adverse health outcomes and to mitigate the compounding burden on the country's healthcare systems. Several measures such as vaccination campaigns, adherence to sanitation and hygiene, improved surveillance and diagnostic capabilities could help prevent future epidemics in the country.

Keywords

• Meningitis
• COVID-19
• Outbreak
• Democratic republic of Congo
• West Africa
• Public health