Resumo

Infection by Neisseria meningitides (Nm), can cause meningococcal meningitis and septicemia with or without meningitis. Meningococcal disease is endemic in Brazil and has a high potential to cause epidemics. Its worldwide distribution depend on factors such as, circulating serogroup, age, immune status, local epidemiological situation, gateway of the initial septic focus, existence of settlements and socioeconomic characteristics of the population and the environment. The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiological profile of meningococcal meningitis cases in Minas Gerais (MG) state, Brazil, from January 2007 to December 2010. This was a retrospective, population-based study. It was analyzed datas from 340 patients, obtained from registers books from the Regional Reference Laboratory for Bacterial Meningitis, located at FUNED. At the study, the following characteristics were studied: sex, age, occurrences period, geographic area, group’s incidence, types and subtypes, and laboratorial methods used to detect and isolate the microorganism in cerebrospinal fluid, blood and serum. Descriptive analysis of the data was made using the simple and relative frequencies of the categorical variables at Epi Info™ 3.5.3 program, which were analyzed with confidence interval of 95% (P<0,05). 340 patients with meningococcal meningitis and/or meningococcemia were identified, being that the cerebrospinal fluid culture and/or blood was positive in 184 cases (54,1%), latex/CIE 146 cases (42,9%), RT-PCR 6 cases (1,8%) and microscopy 4 cases (1,2%). The majority of patients strickened were male (57,0%) and in 45,0% of cases, the patients had until nine years old. The incidence showed a profile of seasonal variation, with peak in the winter and autumn. The biggest number of meningococcal disease cases is concentrated in Belo Horizonte’s Health Regional Superintendencie range area. There was prevalence of group C (241, 73,0%), with reduction of group B (55, 16,7%) and introduction of groups Y (10, 3,0%) and W135 (7, 2,1%). The types and subtypes most frequents were Nm group C: 23:P1.14-6 and Nm group B: 4, 7:P1.19,15. It was verified the occurrence of at least one case in range regions of 28 Health Regional Superintendencies of MG, with incidence rate of 0,43/100.000 inhabitants, confirming the endemicity and necessity of intensification of meningococcal disease epidemiological surveillance in Minas Gerais.