Meningococcal Surveillance Australia: Reporting period 1 July to 30 September 2020

Abstract

The reference laboratories of the National Neisseria Network, Australia (NNN) report laboratory data on invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) cases confirmed by laboratory testing using culture- and non-culture-based techniques for the Australian Meningococcal Surveillance Programme. Culture-positive cases, where Neisseria meningitidis is grown from a normally sterile site or skin lesions, and non-culture-based diagnoses (nucleic acid amplification testing), are defined as IMD by the Public Health Laboratory Network definitions. Data contained in quarterly reports are restricted to a description of the numbers of cases by jurisdiction and serogroup, where known. Some minor corrections to data in Table 1 may be made in subsequent reports if additional data are received. However it is noted that there has been a substantial reduction in number of IMD cases notified in 2020, across all quarters. A full analysis of laboratory-confirmed cases of IMD in each calendar year is contained in the AMSP annual report published in Communicable Diseases Intelligence.