Sub-Saharan meningitis epidemics could be signalled by weather forecasts

Pilot scheme is under way to harness forecasts to predict where conditions that fuel cases are likely to develop

A weather-based surveillance system that could offer advanced warning of outbreaks of meningitis is being piloted across sub-Saharan Africa in a bid to save lives, researchers have revealed.

According to the Meningitis Research Foundation, meningitis affects about 5 million people around the world each year, one in 10 of whom die, while two in 10 are left with lasting impacts, such as brain damage.