Main health risks for Burkina Faso
Diseases transmitted by insects or animals
Malaria affects the whole country year-round, and the number of cases had been increasing continuously since 2001. Strains are resistant to chloroquine (zone 3).
Outbreaks of yellow fevers occur regularly; the risk is higher in rural areas and in the Poni province. In November 2008, two new cases were identified in the North of the country, close to the Mali border. Yellow fever is a viral hemorrhagic fever transmitted by infected mosquitoes
In 2006, the country was affected by the avian flu epizootic as the H5N1 virus was identified close to Ouagadougou, but no human case has been reported.
Cases of trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) may arise, notably in the Banfora and Bobo Dioulasso areas, west of Ouagadougou. The disease is transmitted by the bite of the tsetse fly. Symptoms begin with fever and headache continues with mental confusions, insomnia at night and daytime slumber. If not treated, the disease can be fatal.
There are cases of animal rabies in the country; the disease is considered endemic in all areas south of the Sahara.
Diseases transmitted by food, water or through the environment
Diarrheic diseases, including cholera, are common. In 2005, all of West Africa was hit by an important cholera outbreak.
Typhoid fever and hepatitis A are highly endemic in the country. Those diseases are transmitted by ingestion of contaminated food or drinks.
In 2009, 15 cases of polio were reported countrywide. Poliomyelitis is an infectious disease transmitted via the oro-fecal route. It may cause paralysis. An efficient vaccine exits against this disease.
Diseases transmitted by contact with infected people
AIDS as well as hepatitis B are highly prevalent; it is estimated that 1,6% of the adult population is HIV-positive.
Burkina Faso is regularly affected by serious outbreaks of meningococcal meningitis, especially in Ouagadougou. The risk is higher during the dry season, between November and June. From January to April 18th, 2010, health officials identified 5,118 cases of meningitis countrywide (718 deaths).
Burkina Faso currently faces the biggest outbreak of measles in more than a decade. As of April 5th, 2009, more than 19 000 measles infections had been reported, with 150 deaths. This is 10 times more than the number of infections reported in any year since 1997.
