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Microorganisms
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Meningococcal Disease: Epidemiology and Vaccination
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Meningococcal Disease: Epidemiology and Vaccination

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Public Health Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2020) | Viewed by 13913

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Paola Stefanelli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Infectious Diseases, VPD-Reference Labs Unit; Regional Reference Laboratory and WHO collaborating centre for Polio, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
Interests: genome analysis; molecular epidemiology; molecular typing; public health; strain variants; surveillance systems; vaccine preventable diseases; vaccine efficacy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Despite advances in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD), it is still a major public health concern. IMD is, in fact, a rapid and unpredictable illness, with substantial morbidity and mortality among those affected. Higher incidence is recognizable in infants with a second peak of disease in young adults. Meningococcal meningitis and/or sepsis can be prevented by vaccination. Several vaccine formulations are currently available against the main capsular serogroups that characterize meningococcus in the global epidemiology. However, despite this, IMD occurs worldwide in both an endemic and epidemic form, and outbreaks that mostly affect adolescents or young adults. Therefore, the need to depict the exact burden of the disease and to define the best vaccination strategy in protecting the entire population play a key role in facing IMD. Laboratory diagnosis confirming the presence of Neisseria meningitidis in liquor and/or in blood sample and the use of genomic approaches are now the basis of the surveillance systems and of IMD outbreak investigation.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to provide an update on the surveillance data and on molecular analysis of circulating N. meningitidis strains that might drive the most appropriate vaccines choice and vaccination strategies. A further impact on the disease burden is predicted with the introduction of new vaccines which are effective against other serogroups, like subcapsular, protein-based, and serogroup B meningococcal (MenB) vaccines. However, there are still gaps in knowledge which concern the duration of the protection and the impact of the vaccine on nasopharyngeal carriage dynamic and, consequently, on herd protection. In order to plan innovative strategies with currently available and novel vaccines, it is important to quantify the impact of ongoing vaccination, disentangling the effect on disease and carriage.

Dr. Paola Stefanelli
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Neisseria meningitidis
  • meningococcal infection
  • meningococcal incidence
  • invasive meningococcal disease (IMD)
  • IMD epidemiology
  • meningococcal vaccine
  • meningococcal vaccination

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Review

16 pages, 319 KiB  
Review
Why the Anti-Meningococcal B Vaccination during Adolescence Should Be Implemented in Italy: An Overview of Available Evidence
by Sara Boccalini, Beatrice Zanella, Paolo Landa, Daniela Amicizia, Angela Bechini, Maddalena Innocenti, Mariasilvia Iovine, Elvina Lecini, Francesca Marchini, Diana Paolini, Gino Sartor, Francesca Zangrillo, Piero Luigi Lai, Paolo Bonanni and Donatella Panatto
Microorganisms 2020, 8(11), 1681; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8111681 - 29 Oct 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2569
Abstract
Although meningococcal disease has a low incidence in Italy, it is a public health concern owing to its high lethality rate and high frequency of transitory and/or permanent sequelae among survivors. The highest incidence rates are recorded in infants, children and adolescents, and [...] Read more.
Although meningococcal disease has a low incidence in Italy, it is a public health concern owing to its high lethality rate and high frequency of transitory and/or permanent sequelae among survivors. The highest incidence rates are recorded in infants, children and adolescents, and most of the cases are due to Neisseria meningitidis B. In Italy, anti-meningococcal B (anti-MenB) vaccination is free for infants but, despite the considerable disease burden in adolescents, no national recommendation to vaccinate in this age-group is currently available. The aim of this study was to assess the main available scientific evidence to support the Italian health authorities in implementing a program of free anti-MenB vaccination for adolescents. We conducted an overview of the scientific literature on epidemiology, disease burden, immunogenicity and safety of available vaccines, and economic evaluations of vaccination strategies. Each case of invasive meningococcal disease generates a considerable health burden (lethality rate: 9%; up to 60% of patients experience at least one sequela) in terms of impaired quality of life for survivors and high direct and indirect costs (the mean overall cost of acute phase for a single case amounts to about EUR 13,952; the costs for post-acute and the long-term phases may vary widely depending of the type of sequela, reaching an annual cost of about EUR 100,000 in cases of severe neurological damage). Furthermore, vaccination against meningococcus B in adolescence proved cost-effective. The study highlights the need to actively offer the anti-MenB vaccination during adolescence at a national level. This would make it possible to avoid premature deaths and reduce the high costs borne by the National Health Service and by society of supporting survivors who suffer temporary and/or permanent sequelae. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Meningococcal Disease: Epidemiology and Vaccination)
16 pages, 1650 KiB  
Review
Herd Protection against Meningococcal Disease through Vaccination
by Stephen A. Clark and Ray Borrow
Microorganisms 2020, 8(11), 1675; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8111675 - 28 Oct 2020
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3373
Abstract
Reduction in the transmission of Neisseria meningitidis within a population results in fewer invasive disease cases. Vaccination with meningococcal vaccines composed of high weight capsular polysaccharide without carrier proteins has minimal effect against carriage or the acquisition of carriage. Conjugate vaccines, however, elicit [...] Read more.
Reduction in the transmission of Neisseria meningitidis within a population results in fewer invasive disease cases. Vaccination with meningococcal vaccines composed of high weight capsular polysaccharide without carrier proteins has minimal effect against carriage or the acquisition of carriage. Conjugate vaccines, however, elicit an enhanced immune response which serves to reduce carriage acquisition and hinder onwards transmission. Since the 1990s, several meningococcal conjugate vaccines have been developed and, when used in age groups associated with higher carriage, they have been shown to provide indirect protection to unvaccinated cohorts. This herd protective effect is important in enhancing the efficiency and impact of vaccination. Studies are ongoing to assess the effect of protein-based group B vaccines on carriage; however, current data cast doubt on their ability to reduce transmission. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Meningococcal Disease: Epidemiology and Vaccination)
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21 pages, 2071 KiB  
Review
Vaccines against Meningococcal Diseases
by Mariagrazia Pizza, Rafik Bekkat-Berkani and Rino Rappuoli
Microorganisms 2020, 8(10), 1521; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8101521 - 3 Oct 2020
Cited by 79 | Viewed by 7470
Abstract
Neisseria meningitidis is the main cause of meningitis and sepsis, potentially life-threatening conditions. Thanks to advancements in vaccine development, vaccines are now available for five out of six meningococcal disease-causing serogroups (A, B, C, W, and Y). Vaccination programs with monovalent meningococcal serogroup [...] Read more.
Neisseria meningitidis is the main cause of meningitis and sepsis, potentially life-threatening conditions. Thanks to advancements in vaccine development, vaccines are now available for five out of six meningococcal disease-causing serogroups (A, B, C, W, and Y). Vaccination programs with monovalent meningococcal serogroup C (MenC) conjugate vaccines in Europe have successfully decreased MenC disease and carriage. The use of a monovalent MenA conjugate vaccine in the African meningitis belt has led to a near elimination of MenA disease. Due to the emergence of non-vaccine serogroups, recommendations have gradually shifted, in many countries, from monovalent conjugate vaccines to quadrivalent MenACWY conjugate vaccines to provide broader protection. Recent real-world effectiveness of broad-coverage, protein-based MenB vaccines has been reassuring. Vaccines are also used to control meningococcal outbreaks. Despite major improvements, meningococcal disease remains a global public health concern. Further research into changing epidemiology is needed. Ongoing efforts are being made to develop next-generation, pentavalent vaccines including a MenACWYX conjugate vaccine and a MenACWY conjugate vaccine combined with MenB, which are expected to contribute to the global control of meningitis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Meningococcal Disease: Epidemiology and Vaccination)
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