Fact sheets

Meningococcal fact sheet (PDF 208KB)


Public Health action

• OD 0236/09 Invasive Meningococcal Disease Guidelines for Public Health Staff - 2009

• Guidelines for the early clinical and public health management of meningoccocal disease in Australia

• Australian Immunisation Handbook

• Therapeutic Guidelines: Antibiotic. Therapeutic Guidelines Limited: Melbourne

• Meningoccocal Disease GP Guidelines (PDF 89KB)

• Communicable Disease Guidelines for teachers, child care workers, local government authorities and medical practitioners. Department of Health, Western Australia

Notifiable disease data and reports

• Up-to-date Meningococcal notification data

• General infectious disease reports

Additional sources of information

• Control of Communicable Diseases Manual

• The Meningitis Centre (external link)

• The Amanda Young Foundation (external link)

Exclusion

Cases – exclude for 24 hours after antibiotic treatment commenced.
Contacts – Do not exclude. Contact management will be coordinated by Department of Health staff.

Case definition

Both confirmed cases and probable cases should be notified.

Confirmed case 

A confirmed case requires either:

1. Laboratory definitive evidence
OR

2. Laboratory suggestive evidence AND clinical evidence

Laboratory definitive evidence

Isolation of Neisseria meningitidis from a normally sterile site.

Laboratory suggestive evidence

1. Detection of meningococcus in a specimen from a normally sterile site by nucleic acid testing
OR

2. Detection of Gram-negative diplococci in Gram stain of specimen from a normally sterile site or from a suspicious skin lesion
OR

3. High titre IgM or significant rise in IgM or IgG titres to outer membrane protein antigens of N. meningitidis
OR

4. Positive polysaccharide antigen test in cerebrospinal fluid with other laboratory parameters consistent with meningitis

Clinical evidence

Disease which in the opinion of the treating clinician is compatible with invasive meningococcal disease.

Probable case

A probable case requires clinical evidence only.

Clinical evidence

A probable case requires:

1. The absence of evidence for other causes of clinical symptoms
AND EITHER

2. Clinically compatible disease including haemorrhagic rash
OR

3. Clinically compatible disease AND close contact with a confirmed case within the previous 60 days.