Guidelines for the Early Clinical and Public Health Management of ...

Guidelines for the Early Clinical and Public Health Management of Bacterial Meningitis (including Meningococcal Disease)
5.4. Bacterial meningitis (including meningococcal septicaemia) – cases and deaths
The incidence of bacterial meningitis in Ireland over the last 29 years has ranged from a minimum of 3.1 per 100,000
total population in 1987 to a maximum of 16.2 per 100,000 total population in 1999 (Figure 5.1). There were a
number of reasons for this increase through the mid to late 1990s, such as:
• Increase in the incidence of meningococcal disease in Ireland coincided with increases in the UK and parts of
Europe in 1990s.
• Increased awareness/concerns and therefore improved reporting of the disease.
• Establishment of the IMMRL in 1996 resulted in improved and more sensitive diagnostic techniques being
used such as nucleic acid detection using PCR. Therefore, cases of meningococcal disease that previously
went undiagnosed were now being detected.
Since the peak in 1999-2000, there has been a steady decline in bacterial meningitis notifications with the annual
incidence rate in 2010 standing at 4.3 per 100,000 total population (Figure 5.1). The annual number of deaths due
to bacterial meningitis has ranged between eight and 32 between 1985 and 2010 (Figure 5.1). From 1985-1994,
the annual case fatality rates (CFRs) for bacterial meningitis always exceeded 10%, ranging between 10.8–25%.
Between 1995 and 2004, CFRs due to bacterial meningitis have been