Risk factors for meningococcal disease in Cape Town

To determine the risk factors associated with meningococcal disease a case control study was conducted among children <14 years old who were residents of Cape Town South Africa from October 1993 to January 1995. A selection of 70 cases and 210 controls from Red Cross War Memorial Childrens Hospital were interviewed. The cases were identified using a combination of the passive statutory notification system and an active surveillance system consisting of daily scrutiny of admission registers at the hospital. Significant risk factors observed were breast-feeding for <3 months (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 2.4); overcrowding (AOR 2.3); and age <4 years (AOR 2.3). Exposure to 2 or more household members who smoked in the presence of recent upper respiratory tract infection (AOR 5.0) and poor nutritional status were also identified as risk factors. This results of this study support the reduction of smoking the reduction of overcrowding and the promotion of breast-feeding.