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Meningococcal Meningitis
Dr Rajkumar Patil
Professor, Community Medicine
MGMCRI, Pondicherry 1
Learning objectives
At the end of the class student should be able to:
• Describe the epidemiological factors of
Meningococcal Meningitis
• Describe the prevention of influenza
Meningococcal Meningitis
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Introduction and burden of Meningococcal Meningitis
• Meningococcal meningitis is a bacterial form of meningitis, a
serious infection of the thin lining that surrounds the brain and
spinal cord.
• Caused by N.meningitidis
• During the 2014 epidemic season, 19 African countries reported
11908 suspected cases including 1146 deaths
• During 2011 in India: 6629 cases,464 deaths
(Andhra,WB,Odisha,MP,Jharkhand,TN,
Karnataka,Assam, Delhi,UP)
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The extended meningitis belt of sub-Saharan Africa, stretching
from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east (26 countries),
has the highest rates of the disease:
• Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi
• Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte
d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo
• Eritrea, Ethiopia
• The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau
• Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda,
• Senegal, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo and
Uganda.
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What is epidemic of Meningo. Meningitis in African
belt?
• >100 cases per 100,000 population per year
What is endemicity level of Meningo. Meningitis in
other countries?
>10 cases per 100,000: High
2-10: Moderate
<2: Low
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Agent
• Neisseria meningitidis - large epidemics.
• 6 out of 12 serogroups of N. meningitidis
(A, B, C, W135, X and Y) can cause epidemics.
• In Africa - Group A most imp.
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Host
• Age: Children and young adults,
highest in 3-12 months infants
• Sex: Both
• Immunity: Susceptibility decreases by age,
Immunity acquired by subclinical(mostly),clinical
disease or vaccination
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No animal reservoir
Environmental factors
• dry season between Dec. to June, dust winds, cold nights
and upper respiratory tract infections combine to damage
the nasopharyngeal mucosa,
• overcrowding
• large population displacements due to pilgrimages and
traditional markets.
• Low SES
• N.Meningitidis dies rapidly on exposure to heat or cold.
Incubation Period: Range 2-10 days, Average 4 days
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Transmission
 Droplets of respiratory or throat secretions from mostly
carriers.
 Close and prolonged contact – such as kissing, sneezing or
coughing on someone.
 Living in close quarters (such as a dormitory, sharing eating
or drinking utensils) with an infected person (a carrier)
 10% to 20% of the population carries Neisseria meningitidis
in their throat at any given time.
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Period of communicability
• If treatment is given- transmission stops
within 24 hours
• If not- as long as the organism is in secretion
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Clinical features
• Asymptomatic mostly
• Stiff neck, high fever, sensitivity to light, confusion,
intense headache and vomiting.
• Bacterial meningitis may result in brain damage, hearing
loss or a learning disability in 10% to 20% of survivors.
• Meningococcal septicaemia: A less common but often
fatal form of meningococcal disease is characterized by a
haemorrhagic rash and rapid circulatory collapse.
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Case fatality:
• If not treated: 50%
• 5% to 10% : when the disease is diagnosed early
and adequate treatment is started.
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Diagnosis
• Clinical examination and Lumbar puncture showing a
purulent spinal fluid.
• Microscopic examination of spinal fluid: bacteria can
sometimes be seen.
• Growth of the bacteria from specimens of spinal fluid or
blood,by agglutination tests or by polymerase chain reaction
(PCR).
• The identification of the serogroups and susceptibility testing
to antibiotics are important to define control measures.
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Treatment
• Medical emergency: Treat as soon as possible, ideally after the
lumbar puncture has been carried out if such a puncture can be
performed immediately.
• Appropriate antibiotic within 2 days
(penicillin/ampicillin/chloramphenicol/ceftriaxone)
• Usual DOC: Penicillin
• Under epidemic conditions in Africa in areas with limited health
infrastructure and resources, CEFTRIAXONE is the drug of choice.
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Treatment
• Carriers: Rifampicin
• Contacts:
 Treatment within 24 hours of identification of index case,
 Rifampicin,ciprofloxacin,ceftriaxone,Azithromycin
• Mass chemoprophylaxis:
 Under supervision
 ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone,micocycline
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Prevention
• Meningococcal polysaccharide vaccines:
bivalent (groups A and C), trivalent (groups A, C and W), or
tetravalent (groups A, C, Y and W)
• Conjugate vaccines:
• Since 1999, meningococcal against group C have been available and
widely used.
• Tetravalent A, C, Y and W conjugate vaccines
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MenA conjugate vaccine-Advantages
• It induces a higher and more sustainable immune response against
group A meningococcus.
• It reduces the carriage of the bacteria in the throat .
• Long-term protection
• Lower price than other meningococcal vaccines (0.50 USD per dose)
• Expected to be particularly effective in protecting children under two
years of age, who do not respond to conventional polysaccharide
vaccines.
• Thermostable
• It is planned that all 26 African countries considered at risk for
meningitis epidemics and targeted by this vaccine introduction
programme will have introduced this vaccine by 2016.
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Outbreak trends
Epidemics due to N. meningitidis serogroup A are
disappearing due to the MenA conjugate vaccine.
Other meningococcal serogroups such as NmW, NmX and
NmC still cause epidemics albeit at a lower frequency and
smaller size.
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Travel Precautions
• If meningococcal vaccination is recommended
or required, it should be received at least one
week before departure if possible.
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Thank You
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