Control of Epidemics

The current approach for prevention and control of meningococcal epidemics is based on early detection of the disease and mass vaccination of the population at risk with polysaccharide vaccines. These interventions are massive, expensive, and disruptive as they deflect scarce resources from public health efforts to control other diseases.

Unfortunately, recent studies show that mass vaccination after the onset of an epidemic is unlikely to prevent more than half of the cases that would otherwise have occurred.

More specifically, the current approach uses population-based weekly incidence rates to determine whether the disease has reached alert, epidemic, or outbreak levels:

• Alert threshold: 5 cases/100,000
• Epidemic threshold: 10 cases/100,000
• Outbreak threshold: 15 cases/100,000.

As soon as an epidemic has been identified, an investigation team is sent to the area to confirm the etiology of the disease and, if appropriate, initiate an emergency response.  It includes management of cases and mass vaccination of the entire population provided that vaccine supplies and administrative support are available. If resources are limited, it may be necessary to restrict vaccination to the age groups most at risk.

Photo Credit: Benoît Lange (left); Benoît Lange (right)

This page displays best in a browser that supports current web standards, but all content is accessible via any web device.