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Visualisation and Quantification of Intracellular Interactions of Neisseria meningitidis and Human α-actinin by Confocal Imaging
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Published on: October 24, 2010

A surveillance network for meningococcal disease in Europe

Caroline L Trotter1, Manosree Chandra, Rosa Cano

  • 1Immunization Department, Health Protection Agency Centre for Infections, London, UK.

FEMS Microbiology Reviews
|December 16, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Routine vaccination against meningococcal serogroup C infection significantly reduced invasive disease incidence in Europe. Surveillance data also confirmed W135 and B2a/B2b strains did not emerge as major public health threats.

Area of Science:

  • Epidemiology
  • Microbiology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • The European Union Invasive Bacterial Infections Surveillance Network (EU-IBIS) collected approximately 50,000 reports of meningococcal disease between 1999 and 2004.
  • Routine vaccination against serogroup C meningococcal infection has been implemented in several European countries.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze trends in invasive meningococcal disease incidence across Europe.
  • To monitor the emergence of specific meningococcal strains (W135, B2a/B2b).
  • To enhance data resources and collaborative projects through the EU-MenNet initiative.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of surveillance data from the EU-IBIS network.
  • Rapid reporting systems for emerging meningococcal strains.
  • Collaborative projects including website improvement, case ascertainment review, cost-effectiveness studies, vaccine efficacy comparisons, and mathematical modeling.
  • Linking epidemiological data with multi-locus sequence typing data.

Main Results:

  • A significant decline in invasive meningococcal disease incidence was observed in countries with routine serogroup C conjugate (MCC) vaccination.
  • Emerging W135 and B2a/B2b strains were monitored, with no indication of them becoming major public health issues.
  • Specific clonal complexes were associated with particular serogroups, and case fatality varied with clonal complex, suggesting genotype may indicate hypervirulence.

Conclusions:

  • Routine MCC vaccination is effective in reducing invasive meningococcal disease.
  • Robust surveillance systems are crucial for monitoring bacterial infections and emerging strains.
  • Collaboration among epidemiologists, microbiologists, and public health professionals is vital for effective disease control.

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