2023-04-21 02:45:05
In addition to the triple epidemic of Covid-19, bronchiolitis and influenza, the winter of 2022-2023 also saw the strong comeback of acute meningitis, more particularly those caused by bacteria called meningococci.
After more than two years of low incidence, in connection with the barrier gestures and social distancing measures of Covid-19, a peak was observed in December 2022 with nearly 90 declared cases, a level well above the maximum of the last eight years, according to data from the French public health agency (SpF).
The months of January to March are also well above the average for pre-pandemic years, with data that has yet to be consolidated by SpF. For its part, the national reference center for meningococci and Haemophilus influenzae characterized one hundred strains in January, but the exact number of cases will be specified according to the mandatory declarations sent to the regional health agencies (ARS).
Several areas of grouped cases, in particular, have been identified in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, in eastern Lyon and around Chambéry, but also in the Grand-Est, in Strasbourg. In the Alsatian capital, twenty-nine cases have been recorded since November 2022, including six from the same strain of meningococcus B, hitherto never seen in the Bas-Rhin. The epidemic caused the death of one person. All these cases being linked to frequenting nightclubs, the ARS Grand-Est organized a vaccination campaign aimed at professionals and customers in the festive environment. In all, more than 2,200 people have received at least one dose of this vaccine, which provides individual protection but does not stop the circulation of the bacteria.
Very high mortality rate
Same problem but managed differently in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. In the region, seventeen cases of meningococcal B meningitis linked to another strain, also unprecedented, have been identified since September 2021. If in Chambéry the last case dates back to April 2022, a new patient was identified in March in the east of Lyon, reactivating the vaccination campaign in ten municipalities located in Isère and in the Rhône. The doses targeted the entire 16-24 age group, even if the hyperendemia is also linked to the festive environment, in this case a nightclub in the Rhône. One person died of the disease in August 2022 and another suffers from psychomotor sequelae.
These data correspond to the statistics associated with these infections, known for their very high mortality rate of 10% – when they are taken care of. “Invasive meningococcal disease is almost always fatal without treatment.specifies Muhamed-Kheir Taha, who heads the invasive bacterial infections unit at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. A quarter of survivors have lifelong sequelae, often amputations or neurological problems that are difficult to quantify. It is therefore an enormous societal cost, beyond the personal and family tragedy. »
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