1. Mass antibiotic treatment to stop an outbreak of meningococcal disease: a molecular analysis.
- Author
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Katz LH, Zelazny A, Scharf S, Hourvitz A, Asor N, Arbeli Y, Yust-Katz S, Smollan-Fredman G, and Gdalevich M
- Subjects
- Anti-Bacterial Agents therapeutic use, Child, Humans, Meningococcal Infections epidemiology, Meningococcal Infections microbiology, Neisseria meningitidis genetics, Antibiotic Prophylaxis, Disease Outbreaks prevention & control, Meningococcal Infections prevention & control, Neisseria meningitidis drug effects, Neisseria meningitidis isolation & purification
- Abstract
The occurrence of three cases of meningococcal disease among children in a small community, two of whom attended the same day-care centre, prompted a programme of mass antibiotic prophylaxis. Nasopharyngeal and throat swabs were obtained on three occasions from all children registered at the day-care centre. Serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis was isolated from 13 of 61 children before prophylaxis, from three children after 2 weeks, and from 19 children after 3 months. Repetitive extragenic palindromic PCR analysis identified several meningococcal strains before treatment, one of which became predominant after 3 months. Mass antibiotic prophylaxis initially suppressed meningococcal carriage, but the carriage rate subsequently rebounded.
- Published
- 2007
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