MENINGOCOCCAL DISEASE IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION: A TEN-YEAR FOLLOW-UP

The data accumulated during a long follow-up period could determine the rate, trends, and structure of morbidity, mortality, and death in invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) in the Russian Federation (RF). Objective. To analyze the epidemiological features of IMD in the RF during a 10-year follow-up period. Materials and methods. The personalized information on 10,119 cases of IMD, which had been obtained by the Russian Reference Center for Monitoring Bacterial Meningitis (RCMBM) in 2010-2019, was retrospectively analyzed. Results. The incidence of IMD in the RF tends to decrease. However, since 2016 there has been a rise in the incidence of IMD with an average annual increase of 10.4% and an absolute increase of 0.15 per 100,000population; the involvement of adolescents and young adults in the epidemic process (a rise in the 2016-2019 incidence by 2.4 and 2.6 times, respectively); a 5.5-fold increase in the number of cases caused by serogroup A meningococcal strains. The highest morbidity and mortality rates were found among the children, but the role of adults was significant in the structure of morbidity and mortality for IMD. Conclusion. The investigation has established the precursors of epidemiological troubles in relation to IMD, indicating a possible threat of the next periodic rise in its incidence. The findings could optimize MD vaccination in the RF and increase its coverage among the population

meningococcal disease, vaccination, meningitis, invasive meningococcal disease