Surveillance for Bacterial Meningitis by Means of Polymerase Chain Reaction

Outcome and prognostic factors of acute meningoencephalitis in children of Southern Bangladesh

“…The organism that causes meningitis often also causes encephalitis and the reverse is true as well 3 . The onset of the disease is usually abrupt, diagnostically confusing and may lead to death or disability if appropriate therapy is not instituted quickly 4 . AME remains a neurological and infectious disease emergency with a high mortality rate, despite advances in diagnostic technique, antimicrobial therapy and adjuvant use of anti-inflammatory agents 2,4 .…”

A broad range assay for rapid detection and etiologic characterization of bacterial meningitis: performance testing in samples from sub-Sahara

“…Latex agglutination provides meningococcal serogroup identification for some serogroups including serogroup A, making it useful in the African meningitis belt, but the assay does not detect the currently emerging serogroup X and may underestimate positivity by up to 11% (Chatelet et al, 2005). CSF culture, considered the gold standard in developed countries, typically takes at least 24 h to report, has diminished sensitivity for those already on antibiotics, and may be impractical in resource poor settings (e.g., African meningitis belt) due principally to difficulty in transporting specimens from field sites to reference laboratories which are capable of performing traditional culture and microbiologic testing (Chatelet et al, 2005; Robbins et al, 2005; Saravolatz et al, 2003). …”

“…Relative to culture, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) diagnostic assays for bacterial meningitis offer speed, as well as high sensitivity and specificity (Chanteau et al, 2006; Chatelet et al, 2005; Robbins et al, 2005; Saravolatz et al, 2003, Sidikou et al, 2003). Accordingly, many experts now consider either PCR or culture to be an acceptable gold standard recognizing that, in many resource-limited settings, definitive microbiologic evaluation is not feasible (Chanteau et al, 2007; Robbins et al, 2005; Rose et al, 2010).…”

“…Accordingly, many experts now consider either PCR or culture to be an acceptable gold standard recognizing that, in many resource-limited settings, definitive microbiologic evaluation is not feasible (Chanteau et al, 2007; Robbins et al, 2005; Rose et al, 2010).…”

Impact of Changing Epidemiology on Vaccination Strategies in Africa

“…Moreover, the reactive vaccination policy addresses the control of epidemic meningococcal meningitis rather than prevention. The impact of endemic disease involving other bacterial agents is ignored [12]. The complex epidemiological data now available (demonstrating involvement of several serogroups of N. meningitidis as well as other bacterial agents) show that reactive vaccination is not suitable.…”