Epidemiology and Clinical Outcomes of Bacterial Meningitis in Children and Adults in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Open accessAbstract
Purpose of review Despite the availability of effective vaccines against the three primary pathogens (Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae type b, and Neisseria meningitidis) that cause bacterial meningitis, this condition remains a significant cause of morbidity, neurologic sequelae, and mortality among children and adults living in low-income and middle-income countries.Recent findings Bacterial meningitis represents a significant public health challenge for national and global health systems. Since vaccine-preventable meningitis remains highly prevalent in low-income and middle-income countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) recently developed a global roadmap to defeating meningitis by 2030 and ameliorating its associated neurological sequelae.Summary There is a need for a global approach to surveillance and prevention of bacterial meningitis. Increasing vaccination coverage with conjugate vaccines against pneumococcus and meningococcus with optimal immunization schedules are high-value healthcare interventions. Additionally, overcoming diagnostic challenges and the early institution of empirical antibiotic therapy and, when feasible, adjunctive steroid therapy constitutes the pillars of reducing the disease burden of bacterial meningitis in resource-limited settings.
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- Authors
- Villalpando-Carrión, S., Henao-Martínez, A. F., & Franco-Paredes, C.
- Venue
- Current Tropical Medicine Reports
- Published
- 2024-02-22
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 60-67
- ISSN
- 2196-3045 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC11244613
- OpenAlex
- W4392057676
- Cited by
- 15
- References
- 28
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 6
- FWCI
- 3.91
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- Locations
- Current Tropical Medicine Reports (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Center for Research Resources (UL1RR025780)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Microbiology › Bacterial Infections and Vaccines
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Infectious Diseases and Tuberculosis
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Clinical Biochemistry › Bacterial Identification and Susceptibility Testing
- Keywords
- bacterial meningitis, low- and middle-income countries, pediatric meningitis, meningitis epidemiology, clinical outcomes, meningitis vaccine, pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, meningococcal conjugate vaccine, vaccination schedule, empirical antibiotic therapy, meningitis surveillance, neurological sequelae
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