Incidence of acute bacterial meningitis in the developed world is estimated to be around 1 to 2 per 100,000 people with an estimated mortality of 10%–20% (1).
Britain in 1993 was still in an epidemic of meningitis. In 1992, 1,138 cases of meningitis, with 169 deaths, and 277 cases of septicaemia were reported. However, the case fatality rate has remained unchanged for 30 years. In 66% of cases the offending organism was group B Neisseria meningitidis, for which there is no vaccine. Benzylpenicillin is given by GPs before transfer to the hospital in less than 30% of cases.
Introduction and widespread use of conjugate vaccines have resulted in a significant reduction in incidence over the last few decades
A 56% reduction in invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) among adults has been reported since the introduction of the PCV7 into the routine infant schedule and its replacement by PCV13 in April 2010 (3)
Epidemics occur with meningococcus only. There is a meningitis belt in Africa in which there have been 39,000 cases and 5,300 deaths per year over last 10 years.
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