CONTEXT The number of meningococcal outbreaks on college campuses have been increasing in the past few years. However, no published studies have documented the incidence of invasive meningococcal infection in college students or whether the incidence is higher than in the general population of the same age. OBJECTIVE To compare the incidence of invasive meningococcal infection in Maryland col...

At its October 2012 meeting, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to recommend vaccination against meningococcal serogroups C and Y for children aged 6 weeks through 18 months at increased risk for meningococcal disease. Meningococcal groups C and Y and Haemophilus b tetanus toxoid conjugate vaccine (Hib-MenCY-TT [MenHibrix, GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals]) is licensed for...

The Scottish Meningococcus and Pneumococcus Reference Laboratory provides a national service for the laboratory confirmation of meningococcal and pneumococcal disease in Scotland. The main tests used for the laboratory confirmation of meningococcal disease are culture, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), antibody testing, and more recently DNA sequencing. This paper describes the automation of...

reports on the treatment of meningitis with penicillin, with sulphonamides, and with sulphouamides and anti-meningococcal serum. The following are some recent publications on the subject. Dawson and Hobby (1944) reported on the Use of penicillin in 100 cases out of which only 2 were of meningococcal meningitis. In one case the response was satisfactory; in the other Penicillin was not given int...

Twenty-six patients who had recovered from group A meningococcal meningitis were vaccinated with group C meningococcal polysaccharide and tetanus toxoid. Their haemagglutinating antibody response was measured two weeks later and compared with those of 22 siblings and 39 controls. Patients and siblings had a significantly lower antibody response to the group C vaccine but not to tetanus toxoid. ...

Meningococcal conjugate vaccines have several advantages over polysaccharide vaccines, including the ability to induce greater antibody persistence, avidity, immunologic memory, and herd immunity. Since 1999, meningococcal conjugate vaccine programs have been established across the globe. Many of these vaccination programs have resulted in significant decline in meningococcal disease in several...

Neonatal meningococcal meningitis (NMM) is rare, although early onset and late onset forms of meningococcal sepsis in neonates have been reported. The outcome of meningococcal disease can be fatal and depends on the innate immune system, age, serogroups, pre-existing antibodies, and other unknown host factors. The presentation of NMM differs from that in children and adolescents and may present...

Meningococcal disease is a serious life-threatening bacterial infection caused by Neisseria meningitides with its most common clinical presentations: meningococcal meningitis (which has high morbidity and low mortality) and meningococcemia or Meningococcal septicemia (which has low morbidity and high mortality). Globally, Neisseria meningitidis causes meningitis in about 47.3% of cases and Meni...

During its October 2013 meeting, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended use of a third meningococcal conjugate vaccine, MenACWY-CRM (Menveo, Novartis), as an additional option for vaccinating infants aged 2 through 23 months at increased risk for meningococcal disease. MenACWY-CRM is the first quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine licensed for use in children...

Invasive meningococcal disease is a recognized public health problem worldwide, with a dynamic and changeable epidemiology. In Turkey, the second most common pathogenic meningococcal serogroup (after serogroup B) is W-135, including an epidemic in 2005, which has been strongly associated with Hajj pilgrims and their close contacts. In two studies conducted in 2010, we assessed meningococcal car...