Volume 26, Number 7—July 2020
Synopsis
Case Manifestations and Public Health Response for Outbreak of Meningococcal W Disease, Central Australia, 2017
Eva L. Sudbury
, Siobhan O’Sullivan, David Lister, Deepa Varghese, and Keshan Satharasinghe
, Siobhan O’Sullivan, David Lister, Deepa Varghese, and Keshan Satharasinghe
Table 2
Characteristics of 24 case-patients who had meningococcal serogroup W infection, Central Australia, 2017*
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Age, y | |
| Median (25%–75% percentile) | 5.2 (1.7–7.2) |
| Range |
0.3–14.7 |
| Sex | |
| M | 17 (71) |
| F |
7 (29) |
| Australian Aboriginal |
24 (100) |
| No. communities affected (n = 58) |
18 (31) |
| Location of communities | |
| Northern Territory | 14 (78) |
| South Australia | 3 (17) |
| Western Australia |
1 (5) |
| Air retrieval to Alice Springs Hospital |
15 (63) |
| Signs/symptoms | |
| Fever | 23 (96) |
| Tachycardia | 18 (75) |
| Vomiting | 10 (42) |
| Cough/respiratory distress | 7 (29) |
| Arthritis/arthralgia | 8 (33) |
| Meningism | 7 (29) |
| Hypotension | 6 (25) |
| Purpuric rash | 3 (13) |
| Diarrhea | 2 (8) |
| Petechial rash | 1 (4) |
| Conjunctivitis |
1 (4) |
| Diagnosis | |
| Isolated meningococcemia | 12 (50) |
| Meningitis | 6 (24) |
| Bacteremic pneumonia | 4 (16) |
| Septic arthritis | 1 (4) |
| Conjunctivitis |
1 (4) |
| Admission location | |
| Pediatric ward | 20 (83) |
| Intensive care unit |
4 (17) |
| Length of admission, d | |
| Median (25%–75% percentile) | 5.5 (5–8.5) |
| Range |
4–128 |
| Duration of antimicrobial drug use, d | |
| Median (25%–75% percentile) | 6 (5–8) |
| Range |
4–14 |
| Time from visit to health service to first dose of ceftriaxone, h | |
| Median (25%–75% percentile) | 4.7 (1.6–15.6) |
| Range |
0.6–54.9 |
| Complications | |
| Persistent bradycardia | 4 (17) |
| Persistent arthralgia | 4 (17) |
| Persistent fevers | 3 (13) |
| Coagulopathy | 1 (4) |
| Acute kidney injury | 1 (4) |
| Below-knee amputation |
1 (4) |
| Culture positive |
17 (71) |
| Penicillin sensitivity | |
| Intermediate | 15 (88) |
| Resistant |
2 (12) |
| PCR positive | 23 (96) |
*Values are no. (%) unless otherwise indicated.
Page created: March 31, 2020
Page updated: June 18, 2020
Page reviewed: June 18, 2020
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