Pyogenic meningitis in the tropical rain-forest of Kumasi, Ghana

Pyogenic meningitis is a common and often fatal disease in the tropical rain-forest of Ghana. A study conducted in Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital; Kumasi; in the Ashanti Region; shows that meningitis is endemic in this community. Its incidence increases in the dry season with the peak in January and February. It is much more common in large families where 4 or more people sleep in a small room with poor ventilation. It is more common in men than in women with ratio 1.8:1. The main complication is cranial nerve damage (III; IV and VIII). The mortality rate is unacceptably high in the two groups: Strep. pneumoniae 41 per cent and N. meningitidis 16 per cent