Bacterial Meningitis in the United States, 1998–2007

The epidemiology of bacterial meningitis is evolving. In this report, over 3000 cases from selected areas of the United States are described; from 1998 to 2007, the incidence of bacterial meningitis decreased by 31%, but the disease still often results in death. Studies in the 1970s and 1980s showed that five pathogens ( Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis, group B streptococcus [GBS], and Listeria monocytogenes ) caused more than 80% of cases of bacterial meningitis. 1 – 4 Between 1986 and 1995, the incidence of bacterial meningitis from these five pathogens declined by 55%, largely owing to the use of the H. influenzae type b (Hib) conjugate vaccine for infants, which was introduced in the United States in 1990. 5 Since then, additional interventions to prevent invasive disease from these pathogens have been introduced 6 – 8 (see also Table 1 in the Supplementary Appendix, available with . . .