Abstract
W135 Meningococcal Disease in Africa1
Highlights
Epidemic meningococcal disease has occurred in Africa for approximately 100 years and has been recognized as a particular problem in subSaharan Africa, “the meningitis belt,” since 1963
Epidemiologic studies have provided an increasingly detailed knowledge of meningococcal disease in Africa. This knowledge has led to the identification of three distinct clonal complexes responsible for serogroup A disease in Africa (ST-1 complex, ST-4 complex, and ST-5 complex) with successive large-scale epidemics caused by ST-1 and ST-5 complex
Recent epidemiologic findings have shown that serogroup A meningococci belonging to the ST-5 complex (ST-5 and ST-7) were still responsible for most cases and outbreaks of disease in 2000, 2001, and 2002, with the W135 epidemics caused by bacteria belonging to the ST-11 complex
Summary
Epidemic meningococcal disease has occurred in Africa for approximately 100 years and has been recognized as a particular problem in subSaharan Africa, “the meningitis belt,” since 1963. This workshop explored the scientific issues behind the design and implementation of a vaccine strategy for the meningitis belt of Africa focusing on the epidemiology of meningococcal isolates. Epidemiologic studies have provided an increasingly detailed knowledge of meningococcal disease in Africa.
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