Surveillance of meningococcal disease in China,2009

Objective To understand the incidence trend and characteristics of meningococcal disease in China and provide reference for the prevention and control of meningococcal disease. Methods The surveillance results in China in 2009 were evaluated by using meningococcal disease epidemic data reported by the provinces conducting the surveillance, through notifiable communicable diseases reporting system, through the specific reporting system of meningococcal disease and by the state laboratory of meningococcal disease in China CDC. Results The overall reported incidence of meningococcal disease in China was0.05/lakh, and the case number (76) was highest in Anhui province. The average incidence was 0.23/lakh children under 15 years old. The cases among children and students accounted for 42.14% and 30.07%, respectively. Among the strains of Neisseria meningitidis (Nm) isolated from the cases, serogroup A, B and C accounted for 23.16%,4.21% and 65.26% respectively; and among the strains of Nm isolated from healthy people, sreogroup A, B and C accounted for 10.87%,28.26% and 22.83% respectively. The antibody positive rate was 75.51% for serogroup A and 65.71% for sergroup C among healthy population. Conclusion The proportion of Nm serogroup C detected in China increased by years, and Nm serogroup C had been predominant in Anhui province. Nm serogroup B was the main strain detected in healthy carriers, and the antibody positive rate of Nm serogroup C was lower than Nm serogroup A. It is necessary to improve the surveillance to prevent the epidemic or outbreak of meningococcal disease.