Bacterial meningitis is a serious and potentially rapid life-threatening disease. Therefore, to ensure appropriate treatment, early recognition of signs and symptoms is imperative, along with knowledge of the epidemiology and microbiology of the disease.
A long-term, nationwide epidemiological study of bacterial causes of meningitis in children (= 18 y) in Iceland during the period 1975-2010 was carried out. A detailed chart review was performed of all cases diagnosed in 1995-2010.
A total of 477 children were diagnosed with bacterial meningitis during the period 1975-2010. Of these, 67% were aged under 5 y. The most common pathogens were Neisseria meningitidis (n = 265), Haemophilus influenzae (n = 132), Streptococcus pneumoniae (n = 47), and Streptococcus agalactiae (n = 19); their incidences varied according to age. The age-specific incidence (cases/100,000/y) dropped from 26 in 1975 to 1 in 2010 (p