[A new strategy of fight against meningococcal meningitis epidemics in Sahelian Africa].

An acquired sulfamido-resistance to menigococcus having appeared, the authors propose a single injection of a cheap and efficient antibiotic, chloram-phenicol, suspended in oil for cerebrospinal meningitis treatment. This treatment has been successfully applied at the Bobo-Dioulasso hospital (recovery in 82.5% of the cases). Two controlled experiments on the field of the group A polysaccharidic antimeningococcic vaccine in the Koudougou (Haute-Volta) and Koutiala (Mali) areas confirmed its efficiency and innocuity, the conferred immunity persisting two years at least. The appearance of serogroup C meningococcus at the origin of the epidemic attacks in Nigeria 1975 has been confirmed at Niamey (Niger). In consequence of this new experience of the logistic and economic conditions in the countries of the "meningitic belt" the following strategy for meningococcus epidemic control may be proposed:--a strict epidemiologic supervision by nurses in rural dispensaries;--as soon as a few cases are reported in a medical sector, application of the "minute treatment" with chloramphenicol to all meningitic patients, which permits the "lethality prophylaxis"; the national authorities shall be then warned; they will make the diagnostic of the causal serogroup (A or C) thanks to the electroimmunodiffusion technique;--as soon as the serogroup is demonstrated, a specific "circonstance vaccination" campaign for the whole population of the sector shall be carried out, in order to stop the development of the disease.