Meningococcal Disease and Season in Sub-Saharan Africa

Greenwood, Brian; Bradley, A. K.; Wall, R.A.

doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(84)91830-0

Cited by 119 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Climatic factors clearly play an important role since epidemics nearly always start in the dry season when it is hot and dusty and subside during the rains (GREENWOOD et al, 1985). Low humidity, high temperature and dust might enhance meningococcal invasiveness by directly damaging the mucosal barrier or by inhibiting mucosal immune defences (MOORE, 1992).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk factors for meningococcal meningitis in northern Ghana

Hodgson

Smith

Gagneux

et al. 2001

Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygi

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Meningococcal meningitis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the meningitis belt of subSaharan Africa where it occurs in epidemics every 8-12 years. Risk factors for the disease in this setting remain largely unknown. We carried out a case-control study to investigate possible risk factors among survivors of a meningitis epidemic occurring in 1997 in northern Ghana. A structured questionnaire on socio-economic factors, housing and household overcrowding, smoking and exposure to smoke and close contact with a case was administered to 505 of the survivors and 505 of age-, sex-and location-matched controls. Cooking in kitchens with firewood stoves (OR 9.00, CI 1.25-395) and sharing a bedroom with a case (OR 2.18 CI 1.43-3.4) were found to be risk factors for disease. Socio-economic factors, overcrowding, smoking and passive exposure to tobacco smoke were not found to be risk factors. Exposure to smoke from cooking fires or close contact with a case puts people at risk of contracting meningococcal meningitis. In the hot dry months, exposure to smoke from cooking fires should be minimized by encouraging alternatives to cooking over wood fires, or cooking outside. If wood-burning stoves cannot be avoided, kitchens should be made larger with improved ventilation. Meningitis cases should be nursed in well-ventilated rooms and the number of people sharing a room with a case kept at a minimum.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk factors for meningococcal meningitis in northern Ghana

Hodgson

Smith

Gagneux

et al. 2001

Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygi

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) continues to be a worldwide health problem with severe morbidity, significant mortality and a high incidence of residual sequelae in survivors [1][2][3][4]. The problem is greater in many developing countries with peak incidences of several hundred per 100000 person years [5, 6] compared with many developed countries with peaks up to some tens per 100000 person years [2,7,8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Different seroprevalences of antibodies against Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A and Haemophilus influenzae type b in Sudanese and Swedish children

et al. 1993

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SUMMARYSampling of sera from 202 Sudanese and 124 Swedish children 1–14 years of age was conducted at the end of the 1980s presenting an opportunity to compare the seroprevalence of anti-Neisseria meningitidis (MC) serogroup A antibodies in an area immediately before outbreak of an epidemic (Sudan 1988) with a low endemic area (Sweden). An ELISA antibody assay was developed for detection of antibodies against capsular polysaccharide of MC serogroup A and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib). Serum antibody against MC serogroup A was found significantly more frequently in Sudanese than in Swedish children. This indicates that factors other than herd immunity, as measured by serum antibodies against MC serogroup A polysaccharide, are important for avoidance of an MC serogroup A epidemic. The seroprevalence of Hib antibodies was, in contrast, significantly higher in Swedish than in Sudanese children, especially for 5–9-year-old children. A possible explanation may be the different systems of day-care of children in the two countries.

show abstract

“…Records on occurrence of meningococcal disease are presented underneath in Tables 1, 2 overlap with the dry period, which has led to a supposition for the probable task of low dampness and seasonal dustwind carrying from the Sahara (the Harmattan) in harming the mucosa and producing painful coughing that helps diffusion [34,43].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meningococcal Syndrome in Albanian Children

2016

IJSR

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Meningococcal Disease and Season in Sub-Saharan Africa

Cited by 119 publications

References 11 publications

Risk factors for meningococcal meningitis in northern Ghana

Risk factors for meningococcal meningitis in northern Ghana

Different seroprevalences of antibodies against Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A and Haemophilus influenzae type b in Sudanese and Swedish children

Meningococcal Syndrome in Albanian Children

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About