Australian Meningococcal Surveillance Programme Annual Report, 2020.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is a significant public health concern in Australia.
• All IMD cases are reported to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS).

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the epidemiology and characteristics of IMD cases reported in Australia in 2020.
• To identify dominant serogroups, age distributions, and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of IMD in Australia.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of probable and laboratory-confirmed IMD notifications from the NNDSS for 2020.
• Serogroup determination, fine typing, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of IMD isolates.

Main Results:

• A record low of 90 IMD notifications occurred in 2020.
• Serogroup B (MenB) was predominant (64%), followed by MenW (19%) and MenY (16%).
• IMD peaked in infants under 1 year and adults aged 45-64 years, with serogroup-specific age distributions observed.

Conclusions:

• IMD incidence declined significantly in Australia in 2020.
• MenB remains the most common serogroup, with distinct age predilections for MenB, MenW, and MenY.
• All isolates remained susceptible to ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, and rifampicin, though decreased penicillin susceptibility was noted.