[Study on periodically prevalent feature for epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis in China].

A study on periodically prevalent feature for epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis (ECM) in China was carried out by means of cluster analysis of multilocus enzyme electrophoresis, as well as chromosomal DNA fingerprinting and subserotyping of outer membrane protein class 1 of Neisseria meningitidis group A. Two hundred strains tested were isolated from the patients for ECM and carriers during the 1960s to 1980s in 17 provinces and municipalities. Overall analysis on the bacterial types of the strains above mentioned and data of morbidity of this disease for recent 40 years was undertaken. The research results indicated that ECM really possessed the feature of cyclic prevalence in China, the cyclic epidemics were caused by the different predominant types of Neisseria meningitidis group A and the strains of predominant types could be periodically spread. Every epidemic was basically spread from the north to the south of China. However, the patterns of cyclic epidemic of this disease were not uniform in the country. The above study has established the preliminary base to reveal the prevalent mechanism for ECM by use of molecular biological methods in China.