Meningitis was causal pathway in 7 percent of deaths identified in six sub-Saharan African countries and Bangladesh<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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WEDNESDAY, Nov. 27, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Meningitis is a substantial contributor to mortality in children younger than 5 years of age in low- and middle-income countries, according to a study published online Nov. 19 in the Journal of Infection<\/em>.<\/p>\n Sana Mahtab, from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, and colleagues assessed the contribution of meningitis to mortality and identified causative pathogens in children younger than 5 years in an observational study. Deaths were analyzed in live-born children younger than 5 years of age that occurred between Dec. 16, 2016, and Dec. 31, 2023, in six sub-Saharan African countries and Bangladesh.<\/p>\n The researchers found that for 7.0 percent of deaths (270\/3,857), meningitis was the causal pathway, and meningitis was considered the underlying condition in 4.8 percent (13\/270) of these deaths. Neonates and infants\/children accounted for 65.9 and 34.1 percent of the 270 deaths, respectively. Among neonatal meningitis deaths, 55.6 percent occurred \u226572 hours post-hospital admission; Acinetobacter baumannii<\/em> and Klebsiella pneumoniae<\/em> were common pathogens (49.5 and 40.4 percent, respectively). Overall, 44 percent of neonatal meningitis deaths were community associated, mainly due to K. pneumoniae<\/em> and Escherichia coli<\/em> (35.4 and 13.9 percent, respectively). Of the infant and child meningitis deaths, 43.5 percent occurred \u226572 hours post-hospital admission; common pathogens were K. pneumoniae<\/em> and A. baumannii<\/em> (42.5 and 17.5 percent, respectively). Streptococcus pneumoniae<\/em> and K. pneumoniae<\/em> were common pathogens (34.6 and 19.2 percent, respectively) among community-associated meningitis deaths in infants and children.<\/p>\n “Our findings indicate that meningitis remains a leading cause of mortality among children under 5, with many cases going undiagnosed before death, highlighting the urgent need for improved diagnostic and treatment methods,” the authors write.<\/p>\n