Meningococcal Carriage among Household Contacts of Patients with Invasive Meningococcal Disease in Kathmandu, Nepal: A Longitudinal Study

Pathogens

Shreedhar Aryal¹  Prakash Ghimire²  Megha Raj Banjara²  Supriya Sharma²  Anjana Singh²  Jyoti Acharya³  Dominique A. Caugant⁴ 

[1]Bhaktapur Hospital, Dudhpati, Bhaktapur 44800, Nepal

[2]Central Department of Microbiology, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu 44600, Nepal

[3]National Public Health Laboratory, Teku, Kathmandu 44600, Nepal

[4]WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Meningococci, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, 0213 Oslo, Norway

关键词: meningococci;    carriage;    duration;    serogroup;    Nepal;   

DOI  :  10.3390/pathogens10070781

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Because asymptomatic carriers are key source of transmission, information on meningococcal carriage in the community provides a scientific basis for appropriate preventive/control strategies. This longitudinal study (January 2017–December 2019) aimed to estimate carriage rate of meningococci among household contacts of meningococcal meningitis cases within Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Throat swab samples were collected at first visit from each person in households, twice a month for up to 2 months and subsequently on a monthly basis for a further 4 months. Altogether, 1125 throat samples were processed by conventional culture for the identification of meningococci. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first longitudinal study on meningococcal carriage in Nepal. The meningococcal carriage rate among household contacts was 15%. All carriers were aged 19 years or older. There was no statistically significant gender difference. The duration of carriage was 60 days. Twenty of 36 isolates belonged to serogroup A, and 16 were non-serogroupable (NG). Serogroups isolated from the same individuals did not change within the follow-up period. All meningococcal isolates over the past 38 years in Nepal that have been reported in previous studies have belonged to serogroup A. The detection of NG meningococcal isolates in apparently healthy household contacts clearly indicates the importance of vigilance through surveillance and periodic in-depth studies.

【 授权许可】

Unknown