The Changing Epidemiology of Meningococcal Disease

The incidence of meningococcal disease is at an historic low in the United States, but prevention remains a priority because of the devastating outcomes and risk for outbreaks. Available vaccines are recommended routinely for persons at increased risk for disease to protect against all major serogroups of Neisseria meningitidis circulating in the United States. Although vaccination has virtually eliminated serogroup A meningococcal outbreaks from the Meningitis Belt of Africa and reduced the incidence of serogroup C disease worldwide, eradication of N meningitidis will unlikely be achieved by currently available vaccines because of the continued carriage and transmission of nonencapsulated organisms.