The Lancet
May 30, 2009   Volume 373  Number 9678  Pages 1819 – 1918
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

World Report
West African meningitis outbreak strains vaccine supplies
Wairagala Wakabi
This year’s meningitis outbreak in west Africa, which UNICEF has called the worst in more than 5 years, has severely depleted limited global vaccine supplies. Wairagala Wakabi reports. With the meningitis outbreak this year having killed more than 2500 people in Africa’s so-called meningitis belt, shortage of vaccines has been blamed for the high case fatality rate (CFR) seen in some countries.