The Journal of Medical Microbiology, Vol 48, Issue 10 943-946, Copyright © 1999 by Society for General Microbiology
Upper respiratory tract infection, heterologous immunisation and meningococcal disease
R. J. Scholten, H. A. Bijlmer, H. Tobi, J. Dankert and L. M. Bouter
Institute for Research in Extramural Medicine, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. rjpm.scholten.emgo@med.vu.nl
To test the hypothesis that an episode of upper respiratory tract infection
or heterologous immunisation is a predisposing factor for the occurrence of
meningococcal disease, data from 377 cases of meningococcal disease and
their household contacts (n = 1124) were analysed by conditional logistic
regression analysis with stratification for household. The odds ratio for a
recent upper respiratory tract infection for patients versus household
contacts, adjusted for age and the presence of an underlying predisposing
disease, was 2.8 and that for recent heterologous immunisation 1.0. These
results support previous observations regarding the association between a
preceding upper respiratory tract infection and the occurrence of
meningococcal disease; however, no association was found between preceding
heterologous immunisation and meningococcal disease. Therefore, increased
alertness after heterologous immunisation does not seem warranted.
