The aim of the study was to determine whether patients with meningococcal disease carry meningococci in the throat both before and after treatment for the disease. During the 7 months of the study 106 patients with confirmed meningococcal disease were admitted to Danish hospitals, of whom 77 (73 %) had a throat swab examined at least once and were included in the study. Sixty-two patients were examined on admission and 52 were examined on discharge; 37 were examined on both occasions. On admission, meningococci were isolated from 18 (49%) of 37 throat specimens examined selectively for pathogenic Neisseria spp. Meningococci were not isolated from any throat specimen taken on discharge from hospital; 47 (90%) of 52 of these specimens had been examined adequately. From an observed carriage rate of 0 out of 47 it can be judged that the carrier rate does not exceed 6.4 % (95 % confidence limit). From these results we conclude that it is unlikely that patients who have been treated for meningococcal disease according to the regimens used in Denmark can be the source of infection for secondary cases.
Received:
Accepted:
Published Online:
Copyright 1994, The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland
The Meningococcal Disease Surveillance Group Meningococcal disease. Secondary attack rate and chemoprophylaxis in the United States, 1974. JAMA1976; 235:261–265
OlsenSF,
DjurhuusB,
RasmussenK.
et al. Pharyngeal carriage of Neisseria meningitidis and Neisseria lactamica in households with infants within areas with high and low incidences of meningococcal disease. Epidemiol Infect1991; 106:445–457
RenkonenO-V,
SivonenA,
VisakorpiR. Effects of ciprofloxacin on carrier rate of Neisseria meningitidis in army recruits in Finland. Antimicrob Agents Chemother1987; 31:962–963
Saez-NietoJA,
DominguezJR,
MontonJL.
et al. Carriage of Neisseria meningitidis and Neisseria lactamica in a school population during an epidemic period in Spain. J Hyg1985; 94:279–288
EdwardsEA,
DevineLF,
SengbuschCH,
WardHW. Immunological investigations of meningococcal disease. III. Brevity of group C acquisition prior to disease occurrence. Scand J Infect Dis1977; 9:105–110
AbramsonJS,
SpikaJS. Persistence of Neisseria meningitidis in the upper respiratory tract after intravenous antibiotic therapy for systemic meningococcal disease. J Infect Dis1985; 151:370–371
Sundhedsstyrelsen Cirkulære og vejledning om profylaktiske foranstaltninger ved meningokoksygdom. Sundheds-styrelsens cirkulære af 6oktober1992 Copenhagen: 1992
AlvezF,
AguileraA,
Garcia-ZabarteA,
Castro-GagoM. Effect of chemoprophylaxis on the meningococcal carrier state after systemic infection. Pediatr Infect Dis J1991; 10:700