[Meningococcal meningitis: a case of serogroup W in an underage migrant]

Abstract

Meningococcal disease is a worldwide infection associated with different forms and degrees of severity. In Europe and Italy, the most frequent capsular serogroups of Neisseria meningitidis are B and C. The incidence of the disease is higher in 0-4-year-old children and very significant (or elevated) also in adolescents and young adults. Numerous cases of serogroup W have recently been reported during episodes of mass gathering, as well as outbreaks in the African Meningitis Belt. In 2016, also the Local Health Unit of Viterbo had to deal with a case of serogroup W meningitis in a two-year-old Nigerian migrant child, hosted in a hospitality center. Health surveillance procedures and chemoprophylaxis for contacts were quickly activated and no secondary cases were found. This experience allowed us to make considerations about the meningococcal disease from a clinical, epidemiological, and preventive point of view, emphasizing the usefulness of the current Italian surveillance System.

Keywords

• Meningitis, Meningococcal
• Serogroup W
• Migrants
• Child
• Epidemiology