International Journal of Immunology

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Epidemiological Status of Bacterial Meningitis Disease Following the Introduction of the Meningococcal A Conjugate Vaccine in the African Meningitis Belt

Received: May 16, 2019    Accepted: Jun. 25, 2019    Published: Jul. 16, 2019
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Abstract

Bacterial meningitis disease is a burden in the African meningitis belt. Before 2010, Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A (Neisseria meningitidis A) was the predominant pathogen causing about 90 percent of meningitis epidemics in Africa. The meningococcal A conjugate vaccine (MACV) protecting against Neisseria meningitidis A was introduced since 2010. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the magnitude and fatality of meningitis bacterial disease in Africa following the introduction of MACV from 2010 and 2017. An interrupted time series design and nonprobability sampling were used. Secondary data issued of meningitis enhanced surveillance were retrieved from World Health Organization database. The binomial negative regression and Pearson’s Chi-Square tests were used. The study found that after the MACV introduction there was a 39% decline of incidence rate of meningitis suspected cases (IRR 0.61, 95% CI 0.48 – 0.79, p < .001) and 99% decline of the risk of Neisseria meningitidis A (RR 0.01, 95% CI 0.08-0.013). There was a difference in the meningitis CFR before and after MACV introduction in 21 out of the 26 countries of African meningitis belt. After the introduction of MACV, there was a 46% decline in risk to report high CFR (>10%) after the MACV immunization (RR 0.547, 95% CI 0.40 – 0.74). There was a 49% decline of fatal meningitis (IRR 0.51, 95% CI 0.41 – 0.68, p < .001). After 2010, Neisseria meningitidis A declined and S. Pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis W135, Neisseria meningitidis C, Neisseria meningitidis X, and Hib became predominant. Between 2010 and 2017 Neisseria meningitidis all serogroups concerned remained higher the other pathogens 15,885 (62.06%) Vs 25,596. The study showed that following the MACV introduction despite the dramatic reduction of Neisseria meningitidis A, meningococcal meningitis bacterial disease remains a major public health problem.

DOI 10.11648/j.iji.20190701.13
Published in International Journal of Immunology ( Volume 7, Issue 1, March 2019 )
Page(s) 12-22
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This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Meningitis, Neisseria meningitidis, Meningococcal a Conjugate Vaccine, African Meningitis Belt, Crude Fatality Rate

References
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    Andre Arsene Bita Fouda. (2019). Epidemiological Status of Bacterial Meningitis Disease Following the Introduction of the Meningococcal A Conjugate Vaccine in the African Meningitis Belt. International Journal of Immunology, 7(1), 12-22. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.iji.20190701.13

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    Andre Arsene Bita Fouda. Epidemiological Status of Bacterial Meningitis Disease Following the Introduction of the Meningococcal A Conjugate Vaccine in the African Meningitis Belt. Int. J. Immunol. 2019, 7(1), 12-22. doi: 10.11648/j.iji.20190701.13

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    Andre Arsene Bita Fouda. Epidemiological Status of Bacterial Meningitis Disease Following the Introduction of the Meningococcal A Conjugate Vaccine in the African Meningitis Belt. Int J Immunol. 2019;7(1):12-22. doi: 10.11648/j.iji.20190701.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.iji.20190701.13,
      author = {Andre Arsene Bita Fouda},
      title = {Epidemiological Status of Bacterial Meningitis Disease Following the Introduction of the Meningococcal A Conjugate Vaccine in the African Meningitis Belt},
      journal = {International Journal of Immunology},
      volume = {7},
      number = {1},
      pages = {12-22},
      doi = {10.11648/j.iji.20190701.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.iji.20190701.13},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.iji.20190701.13},
      abstract = {Bacterial meningitis disease is a burden in the African meningitis belt. Before 2010, Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A (Neisseria meningitidis A) was the predominant pathogen causing about 90 percent of meningitis epidemics in Africa. The meningococcal A conjugate vaccine (MACV) protecting against Neisseria meningitidis A was introduced since 2010. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the magnitude and fatality of meningitis bacterial disease in Africa following the introduction of MACV from 2010 and 2017. An interrupted time series design and nonprobability sampling were used. Secondary data issued of meningitis enhanced surveillance were retrieved from World Health Organization database. The binomial negative regression and Pearson’s Chi-Square tests were used. The study found that after the MACV introduction there was a 39% decline of incidence rate of meningitis suspected cases (IRR 0.61, 95% CI 0.48 – 0.79, p Neisseria meningitidis A (RR 0.01, 95% CI 0.08-0.013). There was a difference in the meningitis CFR before and after MACV introduction in 21 out of the 26 countries of African meningitis belt. After the introduction of MACV, there was a 46% decline in risk to report high CFR (>10%) after the MACV immunization (RR 0.547, 95% CI 0.40 – 0.74). There was a 49% decline of fatal meningitis (IRR 0.51, 95% CI 0.41 – 0.68, p Neisseria meningitidis A declined and S. Pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis W135, Neisseria meningitidis C, Neisseria meningitidis X, and Hib became predominant. Between 2010 and 2017 Neisseria meningitidis all serogroups concerned remained higher the other pathogens 15,885 (62.06%) Vs 25,596. The study showed that following the MACV introduction despite the dramatic reduction of Neisseria meningitidis A, meningococcal meningitis bacterial disease remains a major public health problem.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

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    AB  - Bacterial meningitis disease is a burden in the African meningitis belt. Before 2010, Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A (Neisseria meningitidis A) was the predominant pathogen causing about 90 percent of meningitis epidemics in Africa. The meningococcal A conjugate vaccine (MACV) protecting against Neisseria meningitidis A was introduced since 2010. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the magnitude and fatality of meningitis bacterial disease in Africa following the introduction of MACV from 2010 and 2017. An interrupted time series design and nonprobability sampling were used. Secondary data issued of meningitis enhanced surveillance were retrieved from World Health Organization database. The binomial negative regression and Pearson’s Chi-Square tests were used. The study found that after the MACV introduction there was a 39% decline of incidence rate of meningitis suspected cases (IRR 0.61, 95% CI 0.48 – 0.79, p Neisseria meningitidis A (RR 0.01, 95% CI 0.08-0.013). There was a difference in the meningitis CFR before and after MACV introduction in 21 out of the 26 countries of African meningitis belt. After the introduction of MACV, there was a 46% decline in risk to report high CFR (>10%) after the MACV immunization (RR 0.547, 95% CI 0.40 – 0.74). There was a 49% decline of fatal meningitis (IRR 0.51, 95% CI 0.41 – 0.68, p Neisseria meningitidis A declined and S. Pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis W135, Neisseria meningitidis C, Neisseria meningitidis X, and Hib became predominant. Between 2010 and 2017 Neisseria meningitidis all serogroups concerned remained higher the other pathogens 15,885 (62.06%) Vs 25,596. The study showed that following the MACV introduction despite the dramatic reduction of Neisseria meningitidis A, meningococcal meningitis bacterial disease remains a major public health problem.
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  • Family Health Reproductive, Immunization Vaccine Development, World Health Organization, Brazzaville, Congo

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