Niger meningitis death toll rises to 129: minister

Children being vaccinated against meningitis in Niger in 2006. By Issouf Sanogo (AFP/File)

Niamey (AFP) - The death toll in a meningitis epidemic that broke out in January in Niger has reached 129, the health minister said Friday.

"There are a total of 1,150 cases and unfortunately 129 deaths," Health Minister Mano Aghali said on public radio. The government's previous toll, on April 19, was 85 deaths and 908 cases.

Niger, one of the world's poorest countries, is frequently prone to meningitis epidemics because of its position in the "meningitis belt" that stretches from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east, according to the World Health Organization.