title: Cluster of invasive Neisseria meningitidis infections on a cruise ship, Italy, October 2012.
abstract: We describe a cluster of four cases of invasive meningococcal disease that occurred on a cruise ship sailing along the Italian coast in October 2012. All four cases were hospitalised with severe illness and one of them died. This report illustrates the importance of rapid implementation of emergency control measures such as administration of prophylaxis to all crew members and passengers to prevent the spread of the disease in such a close environment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy. paola.stefanelli@iss.it
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stefanelli
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fazio
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Neri
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Isola
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sani
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Marelli
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Martinelli
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mastrantonio
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Pompa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002555:Cerebrospinal Fluid / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008589:Meningococcal Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing; D038542:Neisseria meningitidis, Serogroup C / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012767:Ships / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D020080:Tandem Repeat Sequences; D014195:Travel; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents