Filed at 4:25 p.m. ET

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) -- A meningitis outbreak linked to the return of pilgrims from Mecca has claimed more than 800 lives, the West African nation of Burkina Faso said Wednesday.

The outbreak is of a type of meningitis previously unknown in the country, the Health Ministry said. It called off a planned vaccination campaign targeting what had been the two most prevalent forms of meningitis here.

The current outbreak is caused by the W135 bacteria, for which a single dose of vaccine costs up to $55, the World Health Organization says. That makes it prohibitively expensive for most Africans, and for most African nations.

``Due to the non-availability of the vaccine against the W135, the Health Ministry has decided to stop the vaccination'' against the other forms of meningitis, health officials said.

The government will instead provide medicine to those with symptoms, the Health Ministry said.

Meningitis causes inflammation of the brain. In Burkina Faso, a resource-poor, semi-desert country, the disease has claimed 813 lives out of 6,145 cases, the Health Ministry said.

This form of the disease is believed to have come to Burkina Faso with the return of Islamic pilgrims from the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia in 2000.

The Health Ministry said it would give free care to all infected, and asked for international help. France has promised $30,000 in medicine.