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Meningococcal Infections

  • Harry A. Feldman
Chapter

Abstract

The meningococcal diseases* represent a spectrum of illness caused by Neisseria meningitidis. Although sporadic endemic cases occur throughout the world, massive, devastating epidemics tend to reflect conditions of crowding, mobilization, and enclosed institutional populations. Such outbreaks tend to be extraordinarily disruptive, especially because of the fear and fright that they induce in the affected populations. Among civilians, children are most often attacked, with mortality rates of 80–90% having been noted in some epidemics that occurred before effective therapeutic agents became available. The disease is also known as “cerebral spinal fever” and “epidemic cerebral spinal meningitis” and by other names. Mobilization for war, with the induction of many young men into crowded military camps, has generally been accompanied by outbreaks.

Keywords

Carrier State Meningococcal Disease Carrier Rate Neisseria Meningitidis Household Contact 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Suggested Reading

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  6. Gotschlich, E. C., Liu, T. Y., and Artenstein, M. S., Human immunity to the meningococcus. Iii. Preparation and immunochemical properties of the Group A, Group B, and Group C meningococcal polysaccharides, J. Exp. Med. 129:1349–1365 (1969).PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Greenfield, S., Sheehe, P. R., and Feldman, H. A., Meningococcal carriage in a population of “normal families, J. Infect. Dis. 123:67–73 (1971).PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. Sivonen, A., Renkonen, O.-V., Weckstrom, P., Koskenvuo, K., Raunio, V., and Makela, P. H., The effect of chemoprophylactic use of rifampin and minocycline on rates of carriage of Neisseria meningitidis in Army recruits in Finland, J. Infect. Dis. 137:238–244 (1978).PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar

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© Springer Science+Business Media New York 1982

Authors and Affiliations

  • Harry A. Feldman
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of Preventive Medicine, Upstate Medical CenterState University of New YorkSyracuseUSA

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