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Geneva 1st reports
Geneva hosted the first epidemic outbreak of the disease called Spinal Meningitis. Where there were 33 deaths registered in the area during this time period. The infection of meningitis was identified by two early physicians that referred to the disease as "cerebro-spinal meningitis”This was located in Switzerland. -
Cleveland USA
According to the World Health Organization, in 1864 this epidemic first reached the United. As the outbreaks increased in Europe and there was constant travelling between European citizens and Americans, the disease infected the travellers which unfortunately registered an epidemic in Cleveland -
Neisseria
Neisseria meningitis is a bacterium hosted only by humans and is a leading cause of bacterial meningitis in the United States. Even though it came after Cleveland it was the area where the epidemic burst in the United States -
The Cure
It was not until 1906 that a treatment started to be produced, first being tested in horses. Which the American scientist Simon Flexner started to develop this antibody. he obtained results as the number of mortality of meningitis started gradually to decrease. Years after penicillin was claimed to be effective for spinal meningitis. At the end of the 20th century Haemophilus vaccines started to decrease the numbers of deaths caused by spinal meningitis. -
Beggining of meningitis belt - Ghana
But it was not until 1840 that Africa had their first case of this epidemic, they only came to burst out during the 20th centuary, for many economical and social issues. The most significant reports come from Nigeria and Ghana in 1906, where thousands of deaths were registered. -
West Africa Outbreak
In 1974 there was an outbreak in some of the slums located in Brazil, here 11000 were killed and 75,000 remained with permanent neurologic complications. Later in history a region of West Africa, Sahel had 16000 people killed. -
Spinal Meningitis Takes over Africa
At the area of Sub-Shara Africa, there has been such high notification of spinal meningitis cases, over the past century, that this area was labeled the “meningitis belt” The largest epidemic of this disease ever notified in history occurred during the years of 1996 to 1997. With numbers which went over 250,000 cases and 25,000 deaths. -
From Africa to the world: Brazil
Brazil has the highest rate of incidents between the western countries of spinal meningitis, the rate is 45.8 per 100,000 people.
