Meningitis is an infection of the fluid in a person's spinal cord and surrounding the brain. A full cure is possible if the disease is detected early and treated with antibiotics.

"While no new deaths have been reported, the number of patients has risen to 141 with 30 more cases being admitted till Saturday forenoon," said J.N. Banwalikar, director of hospital administration.

The worst meningitis outbreak in the Indian capital in two decades has killed 15 people since it was first reported on April 22 by Hindu Rao Hospital to the authorities.

Banwalikar described meningococcal meningitis as very sensitive to antibiotics. "(But) It's curable and not an epidemic," he said.

Denying any shortage of vaccines, he said hospital staff and relatives attending to the patients or at home were being vaccinated.

Meningococcal meningitis is caused by the Neisseria meningitis bacteria serotype A and spreads through droplet infection and close contact.

In some patients, it has led to inflammation of the brain and spinal membrane. In other cases, the bacteria have been found in the blood samples.

Meningitis is an infection of the fluid in a person's spinal cord and surrounding the brain. A full cure is possible if the disease is detected early and treated with antibiotics.

Six people have been discharged after being cured, the authorities said.

The last major outbreak of meningitis in India was in 1985, when 6,000 cases and 800 deaths were reported across the country. There was another deadly strike in 1964-65.

Of the 141 cases, eight were visitors from Ghaziabad, Moradabad and Shajahanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

In the capital, most of the cases were from the congested old quarters or east Delhi.

© 2005 Xinhua News Agency - CEIS. All rights reserved.
© 2005 Daily News Central. All rights reserved.