Peltola H
Rev Infect Dis. 1983 Jan-Feb;5(1):71-91. doi: 10.1093/clinids/5.1.71.
In spite of considerable success in the development of drugs and vaccines, the problem of disease due to Neisseria meningitidis is far from solved. As late as the 1970s, epidemics of meningococcal disease occurred in at least 30 countries in all parts of the world. Most of the epidemics were caused by group A organisms, but epidemics due to groups B and C also took place occasionally. The case/fatality rate was usually less than 10% among patients with true meningitis; among those with "pure" septicemia, it was as high as 70%. Children less than five years old are most prone to meningococcal disease, but mortality is often highest among young adults. Because close contacts of the index case are at considerable risk--at least several hundred times higher than in the rest of the population--they should be protected immediately with an appropriate antibiotic and, if possible, with a vaccine as well. At the present time, however, no vaccine is available for use against group B organisms, which in nonepidemic conditions are the most prevalent of all meningococci.
尽管在药物和疫苗研发方面取得了显著成功，但脑膜炎奈瑟菌所致疾病的问题远未解决。直到20世纪70年代，世界各洲至少30个国家都发生过脑膜炎球菌病的流行。大多数流行由A群菌株引起，但B群和C群引起的流行也偶尔发生。在真正患脑膜炎的患者中，病死率通常低于10%；在患有“单纯”败血症的患者中，病死率高达70%。五岁以下儿童最易患脑膜炎球菌病，但死亡率往往在年轻人中最高。由于首例病例的密切接触者面临相当大的风险——至少比其他人群高几百倍——因此应立即用适当的抗生素进行预防，如有可能，还应接种疫苗。然而，目前尚无针对B群菌株的可用疫苗，在非流行情况下，B群菌株是所有脑膜炎球菌中最常见的。
