title: Meningococcal infections in Scotland 1972-82.
abstract: Strains of Neisseria meningitidis isolated from patients with meningitis or septicaemia without meningitis in Scotland during the years 1972-82 have been reviewed together with details of the age, sex, disease and outcome of the patients from whom they were isolated. A total of 1185 strains were isolated, of which 927 were examined at the Meningococcal Reference Laboratory (Scotland): 19.3% were of serogroup A, 63% of group B, 9.6% of group C, 6% of W135 and 1.6% of other groups. Non-groupable strains were rare. Disease was most common in the first years of life but there was a difference in the age distribution of disease due to the different serogroups, the proportion of disease due to group B being smaller in adults than that due to other serogroups. The overall mortality in meningitis was 7.5% and in septicaemia was 20.6%, although there were differences between the rates for the various serogroups. The serogroup distribution differed in disease as opposed to meningococci isolated from carriers although group B strains were predominant in both series. Overall, approximately 15% of strains were resistant to sulphadiazine, the proportion of resistant group A strains being higher than that of other serogroups.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008585:Meningitis, Meningococcal / Q000382:microbiology; D008589:Meningococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009345:Neisseria meningitidis / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012606:Scotland; D018805:Sepsis / Q000382:microbiology; D012703:Serotyping; D012737:Sex Factors; D013449:Sulfonamides / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D013449:Sulfonamides