Meningococcal infection (invasive)

Statutory notification

• Meningococcal infection (invasive e.g. meningitis, septicaemia) is a notifiable infectious disease in Western Australia.
• Alert: Cases must be reported urgently by telephone to the local public health unit within a few hours of first suspicion of diagnosis.
• Case definition: See Invasive meningococcal disease (external site) national surveillance case definition.
• Notification: Notify using the communicable disease notification form for metropolitan residents (PDF 214KB) or regional residents (PDF 213KB). For notification of regional residents see contact details of public health units.
• See also description of statutory medical notifications in Western Australia.

Public health summary

• Infectious agent: Neisseria meningitidis bacteria.
• Transmission: Person to person contact with respiratory droplets from nose and throat of infected person.
• Incubation period: Usually 2 to 10 days (average 3-4 days).
• Infectious period: Until Neisseria meningitidis bacteria are no longer present in discharges from nose and mouth.
• Case exclusion: Exclude until antibiotic treatment has been completed.
• Contact exclusion: Do not exclude.
• Treatment: Antibiotic treatment as recommended by the doctor.
• Immunisation: Recommended that children be vaccinated according to the Western Australian immunisation schedule. Persons at high risk for meningococcal disease are also recommended to have the vaccine. See Australian Immunisation Handbook – Meningococcal disease (external site).
• Case follow-up: Conducted by local public health units and the Communicable Disease Control Directorate.

Information and resources for health providers

• Australian Immunisation Handbook – Meningococcal disease (external site)
• Meningoccocal disease guidelines for principals (Word 574KB)
• Meningococcal disease fact sheet (Healthy WA)
• Communicable Disease Guidelines, for teachers, child care workers, local government authorities and medical practitioners (PDF 386KB)

Guidelines for public health units

• Invasive meningococcal disease – CDNA National Guidelines for Public Health Units (external site)
• Meningococcal disease fact sheet (Healthy WA)
• Meningococcal prophylaxis Ceftriaxone fact sheet (Word 565KB)
• Meningococcal prophylaxis Ciprofloxacin fact sheet (Word 565KB)
• Meningococcal contact prophylaxis form – Ciprofloxacin or Ceftriaxone (Word 213KB)
• Meningococcal prophylaxis Rifampicin fact sheet (Word 571KB)
• Meningococcal contact prophylaxis form – Rifampicin (Word 211KB)
• Meningococcal disease – letter templates for contacts (Word 366KB)

Notifiable disease data and reports

• Notifiable infectious disease dashboard
• Commonwealth up-to-date meningococcal notification data (external site)
• General infectious disease reports