TY - JOUR
T1 - Bacterial meningitis in Africa
AU - Tutu-van Furth, AM
AU - Rohlwink, Ursula
AU - Zaharie, S. D.
AU - van der Kuip, M
AU - Barichello, Tatiana
AU - Rocha Catalão, Carlos Henrique
AU - Solomons, Regan S.
AU - van Toorn, Ronald
AU - Tutu van Furth, Marceline
AU - Hasbun, Rodrigo
AU - Iovino, Federico
AU - Namale, Vivian Ssonko
N1 - Funding Information: TB was supported by the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and grants from Alzheimer's Association AARGDNTF-19-619645, NIH/NIA grant 1RF1AG072491, and Texas Alzheimer's Research and Care Consortium (TARCC). CR was supported by São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) grant 21/06496-4. FI was supported by the Karolinska Institutet Committee for Research, the Karolinska Institutet Research Foundation Grants, the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet), the Bjarne Ahlström Foundation for Research in Clinical Neurology, the Clas Groshinsky Foundation, the HKH Crown Princess Lovisa Association for Child Care, the Magnus Bergvall Foundation, the Tore Nilson Foundation, and the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID). ® Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2023 Barichello, Rocha Catalão, Rohlwink, Kuip, Zaharie, Solomons, van Toorn, Tutu van Furth, Hasbun, Iovino and Namale.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Bacterial meningitis differs globally, and the incidence and case fatality rates vary by region, country, pathogen, and age group; being a life-threatening disease with a high case fatality rate and long-term complications in low-income countries. Africa has the most significant prevalence of bacterial meningitis illness, and the outbreaks typically vary with the season and the geographic location, with a high incidence in the meningitis belt of the sub-Saharan area from Senegal to Ethiopia. Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) and Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus) are the main etiological agents of bacterial meningitis in adults and children above the age of one. Streptococcus agalactiae (group B Streptococcus), Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus are neonatal meningitis's most common causal agents. Despite efforts to vaccinate against the most common causes of bacterial neuro-infections, bacterial meningitis remains a significant cause of mortality and morbidity in Africa, with children below 5 years bearing the heaviest disease burden. The factors attributed to this continued high disease burden include poor infrastructure, continued war, instability, and difficulty in diagnosis of bacterial neuro-infections leading to delay in treatment and hence high morbidity. Despite having the highest disease burden, there is a paucity of African data on bacterial meningitis. In this article, we discuss the common etiologies of bacterial neuroinfectious diseases, diagnosis and the interplay between microorganisms and the immune system, and the value of neuroimmune changes in diagnostics and therapeutics.
AB - Bacterial meningitis differs globally, and the incidence and case fatality rates vary by region, country, pathogen, and age group; being a life-threatening disease with a high case fatality rate and long-term complications in low-income countries. Africa has the most significant prevalence of bacterial meningitis illness, and the outbreaks typically vary with the season and the geographic location, with a high incidence in the meningitis belt of the sub-Saharan area from Senegal to Ethiopia. Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) and Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus) are the main etiological agents of bacterial meningitis in adults and children above the age of one. Streptococcus agalactiae (group B Streptococcus), Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus are neonatal meningitis's most common causal agents. Despite efforts to vaccinate against the most common causes of bacterial neuro-infections, bacterial meningitis remains a significant cause of mortality and morbidity in Africa, with children below 5 years bearing the heaviest disease burden. The factors attributed to this continued high disease burden include poor infrastructure, continued war, instability, and difficulty in diagnosis of bacterial neuro-infections leading to delay in treatment and hence high morbidity. Despite having the highest disease burden, there is a paucity of African data on bacterial meningitis. In this article, we discuss the common etiologies of bacterial neuroinfectious diseases, diagnosis and the interplay between microorganisms and the immune system, and the value of neuroimmune changes in diagnostics and therapeutics.
KW - Africa
KW - bacterial
KW - diagnosis
KW - management
KW - meningitis
KW - pathophysiology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85149377861&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2023.822575
DO - https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2023.822575
M3 - Review article
C2 - 36864913
SN - 1664-2295
VL - 14
JO - Frontiers in Neurology
JF - Frontiers in Neurology
M1 - 822575
ER -