The environmental drivers of bacterial meningitis epidemics in the Democratic Republic of Congo, central Africa.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Bacterial meningitis still constitutes an important threat in Africa. In the meningitis belt, a clear seasonal pattern in the incidence of meningococcal disease during the dry season has been previously correlated with several environmental parameters like dust and sand particles as well as the Harmattan winds. In parallel, the evidence of seasonality in meningitis dynamics and its environmental variables remain poorly studied outside the meningitis belt. This study explores several environmental factors associated with meningitis cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), central Africa, outside the meningitis belt area.

Methods

Non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis' tests were used to establish the difference between the different health zones, climate and veget

SUBMITTER: Mazamay S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7540884 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature