[an error occurred while processing this directive]
2001 Indiana Report of Infectious Diseases |
View ISDH's Quick Facts on Meningococcal Disease
View CDC's Meningococcal Disease page
Rates presented are per 100,000 population and are based on the 2000 U.S. Census.
Cases | Incidence Rate |
|
Total | 47 | 0.8 |
Race-specific cases and rates1 | ||
White | 39 | 0.7 |
Black | 4 | 0.8* |
Other2 | 0 | |
Sex-specific cases and rates | ||
Female | 22 | 0.7 |
Male | 25 | 0.8 |
Meningococcal
disease most commonly manifests as meningitis or meningococcemia. It is
transmitted person-to-person via respiratory droplets from the nose and throat
secretions of a person infected with Neisseria
meningitidis. Up to 10% of United States residents may be colonized with N.
meningitidis in the nasopharynx and have no symptoms of illness.
The
case fatality rate for meningococcal disease is between 5-15%. Diagnosis in a
clinically compatible case is confirmed by isolating meningococci from a
normally sterile site (e.g., cerebrospinal fluid [CSF], blood, synovial fluid,
pleural fluid, or pericardial fluid). A probable diagnosis may be made in the
absence of a positive culture if clinical purpura fulminans is present or when
both clinically compatible symptoms and a positive CSF antigen test are present.
In
2001, in Indiana, 47 cases of meningococcal disease were reported as confirmed. Of these reported cases, seven persons died, for a case fatality
rate of 14.9%. The case fatality rate in 2000 for Indiana was 4.0%. Those
that died were ages 1-70. Five of those who died were female.
The median number of cases for 1997-2000 was 55 (Figure
Men1). No significant differences by race, ethnicity, or sex were
noted. Only
Lake County (6 cases) and Marion County (8 cases) reported at least five cases
in 2001.
Meningococcal
disease tends to strike infants, children, and young adults. The age-specific
incidence rate for infants (7.1) was higher than that for any other age group (Figure
Men2). There was one case in a student attending college or
university.
There
are 13 known sero-groups (A, B, C, D, 29E, H, I, K, L, W-135, X, Y, and Z) of N.
meningitidis. Sero-groups A, B, C, Y, and W-135 are most frequently
associated with invasive disease. As of October 2000, laboratories are required
to submit N. meningitidis isolates to
the ISDH Laboratories for sero-grouping. Additionally, molecular sub-typing can
be performed by pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) on selected meningococcal
isolates. When PFGE patterns match, this may indicate that a cluster of
cases has some common source. Figure Men3
shows the sero-groups identified in Indiana in 2000. Table
Men1 shows the sero-groups indentified in Indiana since 1997, when sero-grouping
became available.
No
clusters of more than 5 cases were reported in 2001. There was a cluster
of one probable and three confirmed cases from one Indiana county.
There is a safe and effective vaccine used for persons ages 2 and older that protects against infection with serogroups A, C, Y, and W-135. Current use includes providing the vaccine to persons with functional or anatomic asplenia, those with terminal complement component or properdin deficiencies, and travelers to countries with a high number of cases of meningococcal disease. College students, especially freshmen living in dormitories, are at increased risk for the disease and should consider vaccination.
Back to Top of Article
Back to Table of Contents
Figure Men1: Meningococcal Disease - Reported Cases by Year, Indiana, 1997-2001 |
Back to Reference in Text
Back to Top of Article
Figure Men2: Meningococcal Disease - Incidence Rates by Age Group, Indiana, 2001 |
Back to Reference in Text
Back to Top of Article
Figure Men3: Meningococcal Disease - Percent of Reported Cases by Sero-group, Indiana, 2001 |
Back to Reference in Text
Back to Top of Article
Back to Reference in Text
Back to Top of Article
1 - Race was unknown for 8 of the reported cases.
2 - "Other" includes American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and multiracial.
* - Rate based on less than 20 cases and should be considered unstable.
Back to Table of Contents
[an error occurred while processing this directive]