Background: An outbreak of serogroup C meningococcal disease that involved illicit drug users and their contacts occurred in Brooklyn, New York, during 2005 and 2006.
Methods: The objectives of this study were to identify the population at risk for meningococcal disease, describe efforts to interrupt disease transmission, and assess the impact of a vaccine initiative. Descriptive and molecular epidemiological analysis was used to define the extent of the outbreak and the common risk factors among outbreak-related cases. A vaccine initiative that used community-based service providers was targeted to illicit drug users and their close contacts. The vaccine initiative was assessed through cessation of outbreak-related cases and the reduction in carriage rate.
Results: The investigation identified 23 outbreak-related cases of serogroup C meningococcal disease; 17 isolates were indistinguishable and 4 isolates were closely related according to pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Two additional culture-negative cases had epidemiological links to laboratory-confirmed cases. The median age of patients with outbreak-related cases was 41 years, and 19 (83%) of 23 patients reported an association with illicit drug use. There were 7 outbreak-related deaths. Vaccination was administered to 2763 persons at 29 community locations, including methadone treatment centers, syringe-exchange programs, and soup kitchens. Three additional cases of meningococcal disease due to strains with the same pulsed-field gel electrophoresis pattern were identified after the vaccination initiative.
Conclusions: Community-based outbreaks of meningococcal disease are difficult to control, and the decision to vaccinate is not straightforward. Current national guidelines for implementing a vaccination campaign are not strict criteria and cannot be expected to accommodate the myriad of factors that occur in community-based invasive meningococcal disease outbreaks, such as the inability to enumerate the population at risk.