title: Effectiveness of immunoprophylaxis in suppressing carriage of Neisseria meningitidis in the military environment.
abstract: Neisseria meningitidis, etiological factor of invasive meningococcal disease, is a human commensal that colonizes the nasopharynx. Colonization is usually asymptomatic, but it is a prerequisite for disease. Asymptomatic carriers are the major source of infection. In the present study, a survey of N. meningitidis carriage was conducted between January and March 2013 in a military unit in Poland. Single-time throat culture samples were collected from professional 559 soldiers (302 unvaccinated vs. 257 vaccinated individuals with the quadrivalent conjugate vaccine ACYW-135). Bacterial identification was performed with classic microbiological methods (culture, incubation, identification). Non-culture method (PCR) was used for confirmation of detected strains of N. meningitidis and determination of serogroups. We found 29 carriers in the group of unvaccinated soldiers (9.6 % of examined individuals) whereas among vaccinated soldiers only 3 persons were carriers of N. meningitidis (1.2 %). The most frequently identified serogroups among the carriers serving in the same military facility were serogroup B (28 %), followed by Y (25 %), and C (22 %). In conclusion, the initiation of mass vaccination with the quadrivalent conjugate vaccine ACYW-135 in the military environment seems an effective method of suppressing N. meningitidis carriage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Tropical Medicine, Military Institute of Medicine, 4 Grudzińskiego St., Gdynia, 81-103, Poland, kktropmed@wp.pl.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Korzeniewski
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Skoczyńska
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Guzek
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Konior
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chciałowski
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Waśko
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Markowska
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zwolińska
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002353:Carrier State / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D032541:Mass Vaccination / Q000379:methods*; D008589:Meningococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008875:Middle Aged; D008889:Military Personnel; D009345:Neisseria meningitidis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011044:Poland / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult