This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Ringuette, L. Articles by Ashton, F. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Ringuette, L. Articles by Ashton, F.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 01 1995, 53-57, Vol 33, No. 1
Copyright © 1995 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Meningococcal infections in the Province of Quebec, Canada, during the period 1991 to 1992

L Ringuette, M Lorange, A Ryan and F Ashton
Laboratoire de Sante Publique du Quebec, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Canada.

A total of 234 strains of Neisseria meningitidis obtained from hospitalized patients living in the province of Quebec during the period 1991 to 1992 were characterized according to their serogroup, serotype, subtype, electrophoretic type, and antimicrobial susceptibility. All these strains were recovered from sterile body fluids, except for one strain that was isolated postmortem from a cutaneous lesion. For both years, serogroup C was the most prevalent (69.7%), followed by serogroup B (27.4%). Serotype 2a represented 80.3% of serogroup C isolates, and P1.2 was the most common subtype associated with this serotype. Clone ET 15 accounted for 76.5% of serogroup C isolates and 90.0% of serotype 2a strains. Although meningococcal disease occurred mostly in children under the age of 5 (9.7 cases per 100,000 children), with a peak incidence for children under 1 (20.3 cases per 100,000 children), most fatalities occurred among teenagers (12 to 19 years old). The total fatality rate was 11.5%, and serogroup C strains were responsible for 88.9% of these fatalities. Thirteen strains had a reduced susceptibility to penicillin G, and 28 strains were resistant to sulfadiazine. One strain was resistant to both rifampin and sulfadiazine and showed a reduced susceptibility to penicillin G.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Law, D. K. S., Lorange, M., Ringuette, L., Dion, R., Giguere, M., Henderson, A. M., Stoltz, J., Zollinger, W. D., De Wals, P., Tsang, R. S. W. (2006). Invasive Meningococcal Disease in Quebec, Canada, Due to an Emerging Clone of ST-269 Serogroup B Meningococci with Serotype Antigen 17 and Serosubtype Antigen P1.19 (B:17:P1.19).. J. Clin. Microbiol. 44: 2743-2749 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Tsang, R. S. W., Tsai, C. M., Zhu, P., Ringuette, L., Lorange, M., Law, D. K. S. (2004). Phenotypic and Genetic Characterization of a Unique Variant of Serogroup C ET-15 Meningococci (with the Antigenic Formula C:2a:P1.7,1) Causing Invasive Meningococcal Disease in Quebec, Canada. J. Clin. Microbiol. 42: 1460-1465 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Singwe-Ngandeu, M., Buchs, N., Rohner, P., Gabay, C. (2001). Waldenstrom's Disease Complicated by Recurrent Meningococcal Arthritis. J. Clin. Microbiol. 39: 3013-3014 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Jelfs, J., Munro, R., Wedege, E., Caugant, D. A. (2000). Sequence Variation in the porA Gene of a Clone of Neisseria meningitidis during Epidemic Spread. CVI 7: 390-395 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• van Deuren, M., Brandtzaeg, P., van der Meer, J. W. M. (2000). Update on Meningococcal Disease with Emphasis on Pathogenesis and Clinical Management. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 13: 144-166 [Abstract] [Full Text]