The epidemiological and clinical profile of meningococcal disease in a Public Secondary Hospital, São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: Meningococcal meningitis is a widespread cause of community-acquired bacterial meningitis in children. In Brazil, meningococcal infection is endemic and usually strikes young individuals with clinical manifestations that may range from transient fever and bacteremia to fulminant disease, progressing over a matter of hours to death. The meningococcal C conjugate vaccine (MCC) was introduced in the Brazilian National Immunization Program in November 2010, scheduled at three and five months, with a booster dose at 12–15 months of age and an additional catch-up program targeting adolescents. In 2009 and 2010, notification …