Meningococcal disease: is it a latent disease in Mexico?

Infection by Neisseria meningitidis occurs frst as an asymptomatic carrier before the disease with serious manifestations like meningitis, with or without expressions of fulminating purpura. This disease is caused by different serogroups, A, B, C, Y and W-135 being the most prevalent. Over time they have undergone epidemiological changes in different regions of the world. There is scant information in our country concerning both the carrier and the invading forms; however, it has been proven in some Mexican states that the incidence of carrier status and of invading forms is signifcant. Accordingly, the possibilities of invading and secondary cases derived from the carrier and through contact with invading forms are feasible. Therefore, increasing the epidemiological surveillance and determining the actual burden of meningococcal disease is required. As far as preventive measures are concerned, prophylaxis of contacts with the index case and vaccination to control outbreaks or in high-risk specific cases is recommended. It would be reasonable as well to establish the indications of the vaccines available in our country.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Gómez Barreto,Demóstenes, Espinosa de los Monteros,Luz Elena, Moreno Espinosa,Sarbelio, Chacón Cruz,Enrique, Mata-Miranda,Pilar, Rodríguez Suárez,Romeo S.
Format: Digital revista
Language:English
Published: Instituto Nacional de Salud, Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez 2010
Online Access:http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1665-11462010000600010
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!