CHARACTERISTICS OF MENINGOCOCCAL CLOSE CONTACTS AND THEIR PERCEPTIONS, BEHAVIOUR AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE CONTACT TRACING PROCESS

The aim of this study is to characterize close contacts of cases diagnosed with Invasive Meningococcal Disease (IMD) in further understanding their role in how IMD is spread and their experience throughout the contact tracing process. An epidemiological review (2015-2020) of close contacts was undertaken to identify, characterize and assess their management and the public health response. Close contacts participated in semi-structured interviews (October 2019 to 2020) to identify type of contact with the case, understand their level of satisfaction concerning close contact management, and challenges associated with recommending prophylactic measures. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes. We interviewed 28 close contacts across ten IMD cases, and identified four major themes – knowledge about IMD/perception of risk; adherence to recommendations provided by the health department; quality of management and public heath response by the health department, and experience in receiving antibiotic prophylaxis. Majority of close contacts had prior knowledge about IMD but experienced anxiety about their risk of contracting it; many believed that the function of clearance antibiotic was to prevent them from contracting the disease; contacts were satisfied with the information they received during the initial contact from the health department and presented to the emergency department of a hospital to receive clearance antibiotics within 24 hours of notification. Most close contacts did not receive any information at the hospital on the side effects or function of the antibiotics that they received. This study provided an in-depth insight on the experience of contact tracing for IMD close contacts as well as a better understanding of disease transmission, and identified gaps in the public health follow-up of close contacts. Findings from this study has implications for the public health response and management of close contacts recommended in jurisdictional IMD guidelines, for Australia and more broadly internationally.