Table 1 Characteristics of evaluated countries.
Characteristic | Burkina Faso* | Senegal* | Niger* | Ghana* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Surveillance design | Prospective | Retrospective | Retrospective | Prospective |
Geographic extent | Three districts | Dakar | Niamey | Northern area |
Surveillance population | 880,000 | 950,000 | 550,000 | 140,000 |
Rural/Urban | Both | Urban | Urban | Rural |
Study years | 2002-2005 | 1970-1979 | 1981-1996 | 1998-2003 |
Microbiological methods | Culture, antigen detection, PCR | Culture | Culture, antigen detection | Culture, antigen detection |
Number of confirmed pneumococcal meningitis cases | 249 | 983 | 934 | 76 |
Percent of cases occurring during dry/epidemic season months of Dec-Apr†| 75% | 49% | 63% | 69% |
Two months with peak number of cases (percent of total)†| Jan-Feb (38%) | Feb-Mar (21%) | Feb-Mar (31%) | Dec-Jan (35%) |
Relation of pneumococcal to meningococcal seasonal peak | Similar | 2 months in advance | 1 month in advance | 1 to 2 months in advance |
13-valent conjugate vaccine coverage of isolated serotypes | Â | Â | Â | Â |
Age <5 years | 67% | 78% (age<2 yrs) | No serotype data | 100% |
Age 5+ years | 77% | 94% (age 2+ yrs) | No serotype data | 98% |
Reference | 4,5 | 9 | 8 | 7 |