Abstract
Serogroup W135 ST-2881 meningococci caused a cluster of meningitis cases in Niger in 2003. Of 80 healthy persons in the patients' villages, 28 (35%) carried meningococci; 20 of 21 W135 carrier strains were ST-2881. Ten months later, 5 former carriers were still carriers of W135 ST-2881 strains. The serum bactericidal antibody activity changed according to carrier status.
Highlights
Niger is located in the African “meningitis belt” [1]
All cases caused by N. meningitidis serogroup W135 (NmW135) were reported by the Illela health center (14°27′N, 05°14′E) and were in patients living in 5 surrounding villages
We assessed the immunologic response to NmW135 by using the serum bactericidal antibody (SBA) assay, carried out according to the method of Maslanka et al [6], and the standard operating procedure of the Vaccine Evaluation Department of the Manchester Medical Microbiology Partnership (VED/MMMP)
Summary
Niger is located in the African “meningitis belt” [1]. Until recently, meningococcal meningitis epidemics in Niger were caused primarily by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A. All cases caused by NmW135 were reported by the Illela health center (14°27′N, 05°14′E) and were in patients living in 5 surrounding villages. To understand the limited size of this cluster of NmW135 cases in a population never vaccinated against this serogroup, we surveyed the prevalence and duration of meningococcal carriage among inhabitants of patients’ villages. An unpublished study by the meningococcus unit in Marseille showed that meningococci having the same PFGE fingerprint patterns belonged to the same sequence type (ST).
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