TITLE:
Evolution of the Etiologies of Purulent Meningitis in Children over a Period of 24 Months in Conflict-Affected Rural Areas of the Central African Republic after the Introduction of 2 New Vaccines in the Expanded Vaccination Program
AUTHORS:
Rostand Kombaya, Marie Colette Nganda Bangue, Irenee Galendji, Honorat Nouzoukem, Edgar Tchoumateu, Brice Olivier Bogning Mejiozem, Freddy Samuel Ngbonga Konzapa Voulou, Henri Saint Clavaire Diemer, Christian Diamant Mossoro-Kpindé
KEYWORDS:
Purulent Meningitis, Children, Epidemiology, Etiologies, Bria, Central African Republic
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Medical Microbiology,
Vol.13 No.3,
August
4,
2023
ABSTRACT: Background and Objective: Purulent meningitis
is a therapeutic emergency and remains a real public health problem in the
world, particularly in limited resources countries. The study aimed to describe
the epidemiological clinical, etiological and scalable features of purulent
meningitis in children in Bria. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive
study was conducted from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2019 (24 months). It
included all suspected cases of purulent meningitis in children aged 0 to 15
years, confirmed by agglutination with Pastorex meningitis. A standard sheet
was used to collect the data which was entered and analyzed on Epi Info 7
software. Results: A total of 37 cases of purulent meningitis were
confirmed among 90 suspected cases. The female gender predominated (59.5%),
with a sex ratio of 0.7. The age group from 0 to 11 months was majority (48.6%). Nearly 2 thirds of children were not vaccinated (64.8%). The most frequent functional signs were fever
(83.8%), and convulsion (51.4%). The etiologies were Streptococcus (51.4%), Neisseria meningitidis (35.1%) and Haemophilus influenzae (13.5%).
Therapeutic success under 3rd generation cephalosporin treatment was obtained
in 86.5% including 8.1% with sequelae; 13.5% of
death was observed. Streptococcus was
the most lethal bacterium at 21.1%. Conclusion: The results of these
studies show that pediatric purulent meningitis is still common despite the
availability of free vaccination. They require early therapeutic management to
limit the occurrence of sequelae and death. Hence, it is important to strengthen prevention
strategies.