Winter and spring are the main seasons for meningococcal disease, although it is reassuring to know that notifications of the disease in residents of the South Eastern Sydney Illawarra Area have declined markedly since the introduction in 2003 of Meningococcal C vaccination.
For January to August 2008, there were 8 cases in local residents, of which 5 were serogroup B and 1 was group C; this compared to 14 cases in the same period in 2007, of which 8 were group B and 4 group C. In both years, under-5s and adolescents/young adults tended to be more commonly affected.
We have compared the notification numbers and rates in the 4 years prior to the vaccination program, 1999-2002, and the 4 years since the start of the program, 2004-7. Across the Area, annual notification rates dropped almost 60%.
