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National surveillance for meningococcal disease in Japan, 1999-2014

Munehisa Fukusumi1, Hajime Kamiya2, Hideyuki Takahashi3

  • 1Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP), National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Epidemiology for Infectious Diseases, Osaka University, Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.

Vaccine
|June 14, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Japanese meningococcal disease (IMD) remains rare, with serogroup Y dominating cases. Enhanced surveillance is crucial for accurate epidemiology and vaccine recommendations.

Area of Science:

  • Epidemiology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Public Health Surveillance

Background:

  • Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) reporting in Japan was amended in April 2013 to include bacteremia.
  • Prior to April 2013, only meningococcal meningitis cases were reported.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To summarize the epidemiology and serogroup distribution of IMD in Japan.
  • To assess the impact of amended reporting requirements on IMD case detection.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of national surveillance data from April 1999 to December 2014.
  • Inclusion of both meningococcal meningitis and bacteremia cases from April 2013 onwards.

Main Results:

  • From April 1999 to March 2013, 178 meningitis cases were reported. From April 2013 to December 2014, 59 IMD cases (meningitis and bacteremia) were reported.
  • The median age of IMD cases was 56 years, with 66% being male. Only 3% of cases were under 5 years old.
  • Serogroup Y was the most prevalent (42%), followed by C (12%), B (7%), and W (3%). The annual incidence in 2014 was 0.028 per 100,000, with a case fatality rate of 19%.

Conclusions:

  • Despite increased reporting, IMD incidence in Japan remains low, potentially due to underreporting.
  • Serogroup Y is the dominant cause of IMD in Japan.
  • Improvements in surveillance are needed to accurately capture IMD epidemiology and serogroup distribution for effective vaccination strategies.
Keywords:
EpidemiologyJapanMeningococcal vaccineNeisseria meningitidisSurveillance

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