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[Meningococcal vaccines. Global epidemiological situation and strategies for prevention by vaccination]

Irene Rivero Calle1, Carmen Rodriguez-Tenreiro Sánchez1, Federico Martinón-Torres1

  • 1Pediatría Clínica, Infectológica y Traslacional. Departamento de Pediatría, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago, Unidad de Investigación en Vacunas, GENVIP, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, La Coruña, España.

Enfermedades Infecciosas Y Microbiologia Clinica
|March 22, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Meningococcal disease, caused by Neisseria meningitidis, presents a significant public health challenge. Immunization is the most effective strategy against this potentially fatal illness, as chemoprophylaxis and eliminating carriers are impractical.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Epidemiology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Neisseria meningitidis (N. meningitidis) is a primary cause of meningitis and septicemia globally.
  • Meningococcal disease is characterized by high mortality and severe sequelae, even with advanced medical care.
  • Current control strategies like chemoprophylaxis have limited impact on overall disease burden.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the effectiveness of different strategies for controlling meningococcal disease.
  • To highlight the limitations of chemoprophylaxis and carrier elimination.
  • To advocate for immunization as the primary method for disease prevention.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on N. meningitidis epidemiology and control.
  • Analysis of the impact of chemoprophylaxis on secondary cases.
  • Assessment of the feasibility of eliminating nasopharyngeal carriers.

Main Results:

  • Secondary cases account for only 1%-2% of all meningococcal disease cases.
  • Chemoprophylaxis has a minimal effect on endemic and epidemic forms of the disease.
  • Nasopharyngeal carriage rates of 5%-15% in children and young adults make carrier elimination unfeasible.

Conclusions:

  • Chemotherapeutic elimination of nasopharyngeal colonization is not a viable strategy.
  • Immunization remains the only rational and effective approach to combat meningococcal disease.
  • Vaccination is crucial for reducing the incidence and impact of meningitis and septicemia.
Keywords:
Antimeningococcal vaccinesEnfermedad meningocócicaMeningococcal diseaseNeisseria meningitidisVacunas antimeningocócicas

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