infections. Although we did not conduct a case–control study, these fi ndings also support the results of other studies that previously reported the demographic characteristics of patients with pandemic infl uenza infections and the risk factors for severe or fatal pandemic infl uenza infections (3,4), especially with respect to obesity (5). Evaluation of tissues collected during autopsy from p...

BACKGROUND African children have some of the highest rates of bacterial meningitis in the world. Bacterial meningitis in Africa is associated with high case fatality and frequent neuropsychological sequelae. The objective of this study is to present a comprehensive review of data on bacterial meningitis sequelae in children from the African continent. METHODS We conducted a systematic literat...

Retinal hemorrhages in children occasionally accompany bacterial meningitis, usually due to hemophilus or meningococcal organisms. The hemorrhages may be intraretinal, usually in the posterior pole of the eye and few in number, or, more uncommonly, subhyaloid or vitreous. Pathogenesis may include vasculitis, disseminated intravascular coagulation, or intracranial hypertension. We report 2 cases...

Meningococcal infections occur as epidemics in the African meningitis belt. Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A is predominantly involved in these epidemics. We report here new data on the involvement of both serogroups A and W135 in meningitis cases in Burkina Faso and Niger at the end of the 2001 epidemic.

OBJECTIVE To review the literature relevant to diagnosis and management of meningococcal disease (MD). SOURCES Non-systematic review of medical literature through the MEDLINE database using the terms meningococcal, septic shock, diagnosis, and treatment. Articles were selected according to their relevance to the objective of the study and according to the authors' opinion. SUMMARY OF THE FI...

Context Although cases of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A (NmA) in the African meningitis belt have declined dramatically following the extensive roll-out of MenAfriVac, a monovalent serogroup A conjugate vaccine, outbreaks due to other meningococcal serogroups have continued.1 More than 25 000 suspected cases of meningitis across the meningitis belt have been reported in each of the past 3 ...

BACKGROUND Although the coexistence of bacterial meningitis and arthritis has been noted in several studies, it remains unclear how often both conditions occur simultaneously. METHODS We evaluated the presence of arthritis in a prospective nationwide cohort of 696 episodes of community-acquired bacterial meningitis, confirmed by culture of cerebrospinal fluid, which occurred in patients aged ...