A fast-spreading meningitis outbreak is tearing through refugee camps in eastern Chad, killing nearly 12% of infected children, according to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
The medical charity said on Thursday that the outbreak is affecting camps hosting hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the war in neighbouring Sudan, warning that health facilities are now under severe strain.
MSF reported that out of 212 children admitted with meningitis between March and April, 25 have died, describing the situation as a “shocking case fatality rate.”
Meningitis, a life-threatening infection marked by sudden fever, stiff neck, headache, and confusion, is classified as a medical emergency. The organisation also warned that hospital beds for meningitis patients are nearly fully occupied, leaving little capacity to treat other illnesses.
Eastern Chad is currently hosting more than 1.3 million Sudanese refugees, many of whom fled ongoing violence in Sudan, including mass killings and famine conditions in Darfur, according to United Nations figures.
Alongside meningitis, measles is also spreading rapidly in the border town of Adre, where overcrowded conditions have worsened the transmission of infectious diseases.
MSF medical activity manager in Adre, Isabelle Kavira, said hospitals are receiving increasing numbers of severely ill children.
“Every day, we see children arriving with severe measles, often complicated by pneumonia, requiring urgent hospitalization,” she said.
Most of the refugees arrived after the outbreak of conflict in Sudan in April 2023 between the national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
In response, Chad’s health authorities and MSF teams have carried out emergency vaccination campaigns, reaching more than 95,500 children against measles and 337,800 people against meningitis in the worst-affected areas, according to the organisation.
Despite these efforts, MSF warned that overcrowding and limited medical resources continue to fuel the spread of disease across the camps.
