Respiratory viruses and mycoplasma as cofactors for epidemic group A meningococcal meningitis

Article Abstract:

Although epidemics of meningococcal meningitis (bacterial infection of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord) have not been a major concern in industrialized countries since the late 1940s, epidemics continue to ravage developing countries. There has been a long-standing clinical association between upper respiratory tract infection and the risk of developing meningococcal meningitis. The present study examines upper respiratory tract infection as a predisposing factor in the risk of meningococcal meningitis during an epidemic in the African country of Chad. In the spring of 1988 physicians in N'Djamena Chad noted an increased rate of hospitalization for meningococcal disease. In April a peak rate of hospitalization was reached (141 patients per day). In less than 3 months, 4,542 cases of meningococcal disease were reported; a group of 62 patients with meningococcal meningitis were included in the study. Various laboratory tests were conducted to determine the presence of infections of the upper respiratory tract. The risk of infection from respiratory virus and mycoplasma increased with age and the severity of upper respiratory tract symptoms, but these infections did not increase the risk of developing meningitis. Respiratory infections may be associated with meningococcal carrier status. Although the findings of this study are based on the experience of a developing nation, they are applicable to industrialized nations as well. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Risk factors, Statistics, Demographic aspects

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Mass voluntary immunization campaigns for meningococcal disease in Canada: media hysteria

Article Abstract:

Hysteria created by reports in the media about the deaths of three teenagers from meningococcal meningitis started the first mass vaccination program in Canada since the 1950s. Three teenagers who attended the same school dance in Ontario died from meningitis in Dec 1991. Health ministers in the Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island ordered mass voluntary vaccination programs. The number of cases of meningitis in Canada during 1991 was not any higher than in the previous 10 years. But the incidence among adolescents and young adults in some parts of Canada was higher than in previous years. The cost of the vaccination programs is not known yet, but it may have been more efficient to have targeted the immunization programs to specific high-risk groups. Sensationalism in the media surrounding the meningitis deaths created a huge demand for the meningitis vaccine, and additional vaccine had to be purchased by the Canadian government. Some physicians believe that the mass immunization programs were not necessary, and that the government succumbed to public pressure created by hysteria about the meningitis deaths.

Canada, Mass media, Immunization, Health education, Mass media in health education

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The worldwide prevention of meningococcal infection: still an elusive goal

Article Abstract:

It appears that worldwide elimination of meningococcal infections will take some time due to a variety of factors including the lack of an effective vaccine. Infection with the organism Neisseria meningitidis can kill a healthy adult within hours. Infection with the organism is the primary cause of bacterial meningitis and bacteremia in the United States. Though the incidence of meningococcal infections has declined in the U.S., the emergence of a newer, more virulent strain of group C meningococcus in Canada and the Atlantic region indicates that the organism has not been eradicated. Though group C infections are more common in North America, group A infections are more common in developing countries. Vaccines are not used routinely because they are ineffective in children and ineffective against group B infections. Until more effective vaccines are developed, meningococcal infections will continue to be a public health threat.

Editorial, International aspects, Public health, Meningococcal infections, Neisseria meningitidis

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