Invasive meningococcal disease - Annual Epidemiological Report for 2021

Surveillance report
Publication series: Annual Epidemiological Report
Time period covered: This report is based on data for 2021 retrieved from The European Surveillance System (TESSy) on 20 April 2023. TESSy is a system for the collection, analysis and dissemination of data on communicable diseases.
Cite:

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Invasive meningococcal disease. In: ECDC. Annual epidemiological report for 2021. Stockholm: ECDC; 2023.

Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is a serious bacterial infection caused by the Gram-negative diplococcus Neisseria meningitidis. The bacterium is often detected in the nasopharynx without causing disease, described as asymptomatic carriage. It occasionally invades the body and causes meningococcal infection. IMD is a major cause of meningitis (37%–49% of cases) and septicaemia (18%–33% of cases). It is of public health concern because of its severe morbidity and relatively high case fatality rate (8–15%), especially in young children.