Meningitis |
Meningococcal meningitis: clonal waves of colonisation and disease in the meningitis belt of sub-Saharan Africa
Bacterial meningitis is a medical emergency and remains one of the major health problems in Sub-Saharan Africa. The three most important agents are Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Haemophilus influenzae. All three pathogens are common colonizers of the human nasopharynx, invasive disease is usually a rare event. However, N. meningitidis is known for its potential to cause meningitis epidemics especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the so called African Meningitis Belt, epidemics of meningococcal meningitis reccur every 8-12 years with incidence rates of up to 1% in the affected population.
The bacterial meningitis project involves longitudinal studies of the molecular epidemiology of comparatively carriage and disease of N. meningititdis and S. pneumoniae. The studies are being carried out in Northern Ghana and Burkina Faso and aim to enhance the understanding of the dynamics of meningitis epidemics in the African Meningitis Belt. The results provide important background information for the evaluation and introduction of new conjugate vaccines against meningococcal and pneumococcal infections in Africa.
Selected publications
- ST2859 serogroup A meningococcal meningitis outbreak in Nouna Health District, Burkina Faso: a prospective study. Sié A, Pflüger V, Coulibaly B, Dangy JP, Kapaun A, Junghanss T, Pluschke G, Leimkugel J. Trop Med Int Health. 2008 Jun;13(6):861-8. Epub 2008 Apr 2.
- Clonal waves of Neisseria colonisation and disease in the African meningitis belt: eight- year longitudinal study in northern Ghana. Leimkugel J, Hodgson A, Forgor AA, Pflüger V, Dangy JP, Smith T, Achtman M, Gagneux S, Pluschke G. PLoS Med. 2007 Mar 27;4(3):e101.
- An outbreak of serotype 1 Streptococcus pneumoniae meningitis in northern Ghana with features that are characteristic of Neisseria meningitidis meningitis epidemics. Leimkugel J, Adams Forgor A, Gagneux S, Pflüger V, Flierl C, Awine E, Naegeli M, Dangy JP, Smith T, Hodgson A, Pluschke G. J Infect Dis. 2005 Jul 15;192(2):192-9. Epub 2005 Jun 10.