Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by JACOBSON, J. A.
Right arrow Articles by MCCORMICK, J. B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by JACOBSON, J. A.
Right arrow Articles by MCCORMICK, J. B.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 104, No. 5: 552-555
Copyright © 1976 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health

research-article

THE RISK OF MENINGITIS AMONG CLASSROOM CONTACTS DURING AN EPIDEMIC OF MENINGOCOCCAL DISEASE

JAY A. JACOBSON1, PAULO AUGUSTO MOREIRA CAMARGOS2, JOSE TEUBNER FERREIRA2 and JOSEPH B. MCCORMICK

1Bacterial Diseases Division, Bureau of Epidemiology, Center for Disease Control Atlanta, Ga 30333.
2State Department of Health Minas Gerais, Brazil.

During an epidemic of meningococcal disease in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, a retrospective survey was carried out to assess the risk of meningitis associated with exposure in a schoolroom. Forty-seven of 17,012 students reportedly had meningitis in August-November 1974, an incidence of 276 per 100,000. Four of 1356 students with classroom exposure to a case contracted meningitis (secondary attack rate, 295 per 100,000). The results indicate that in the population surveyed, 95% of whom were from 7 to 14 years of age, there is no significantly increased risk associated with classroom exposure to a student with meningitis. Antibiotic prophylaxis of classroom contacts is therefore not indicated and should be reserved for contacts known to be at increased risk, such as members of the patient's household or those having direct contact with the patient's oral secretions.

disease outbreaks; meningitis; meningococcic; meningococcal infections


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.