Meningococcemia historical perspective
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] ; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Ammu Susheela, M.D. [2]
Overview
Historical Perspective
- Records indicate that the first case of meningococcal meningitis was described in Geneva in 1805.[1]
- Another case was reported in New England , New Bedford , Massachusetts in 1806.[2]
- The causative agent was described as intracellular oval cocci in a cerebrospinal fluid sample by Marchiafava and Celli in 1884.
- The organism was isolated by Anton Weischselbaum in 1887 and he gave the term Diplococcus intracellularis meningitidis.
- From then on for more than 2 hundred years, meningococcus has caused high rates of morbidity and mortality all around the world.
- No reports of outbreaks have been reported prior to 1806.
- The first meningococcal epidemics occured in early 1900s in sub saharan Africa.
Outbreaks
- Usually the menigococcal meningitis cases appear sporadic. Very Rarely they can occur as an outbreaks and the outbreaks are usually found in communities like schools, colleges, prisons and such close populations.
- In temperate regions the number of cases increases in winter and spring. Serogroups B and C together account for a large majority of cases in Europe and the Americas.
- Several local outbreaks due to Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C have been reported in Canada and the United States (1992-93) and in Spain (1995-97).
- Major African epidemics are associated with Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A, which is usually the cause of meningococcal disease in Asia.
- In 2000 and 2001 several hundred pilgrims attending the Hajj in Saudi Arabia were infected with Neisseria meningitidis W.
- In 2002, Neisseria meningitidis W emerged in Burkina Faso, striking 13,000 people and killing 1,500.
Epidemics in Africa
References
- ↑ "Meningococcus".
- ↑ Stephens DS (2009). "Biology and pathogenesis of the evolutionarily successful, obligate human bacterium Neisseria meningitidis". Vaccine. 27 Suppl 2: B71–7. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2009.04.070. PMC 2712446. PMID 19477055.