Meningitis propagation in southern Tanzania: the role of a village video show.
An outbreak of meningitis with 85 secondary cases and an unusually high attack rate of 16% occurred in a rural village in southern Tanzania. We investigated risk factors for clinical illness in a community-based case-control study. Attending a commercial mobile video show carried an age- and sex-adjusted odds ratio of 8.0 (95% confidence interval: 3.8-16.8). The videos had been shown in a windowless and overcrowded storeroom and had been attended by the primary case, a visitor from neighbouring Mozambique who died from meningitis on the following day. We conclude that mobile video shows, which have become popular in many developing countries, constitute a potential health hazard in areas prone to meningitis epidemics.
Jahn
A
A
Department of Tropical Hygiene and Public Health, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany. albrecht.jahn@urz.uni-heidelberg.de
Kudzala
A
A
Kitundu
H
H
Lyamuya
E
E
Razum
O
O
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008585:Meningitis, Meningococcal / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission*; D011998:Recreation; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population; D013636:Tanzania / Q000453:epidemiology