MENINGOCOCCAL INFECTIONS IN THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC, CANADA, DURING THE PERIOD 1991 TO 1992

A total of 234 strains of Neisseria meningitidis obtained from hospita lized patients living in the province of Quebec during the period 1991 to 1992 were characterized according to their serogroup, serotype, su btype, electrophoretic type, and antimicrobial susceptibility. All the se strains were recovered from sterile body fluids, except for one str ain that was isolated postmortem from a cutaneous lesion, For both yea rs, serogroup C was the most prevalent (69.7%), followed by serogroup B (27.4%). Serotype 2a represented 80.3% of serogroup C isolates, and P1.2 was the most common subtype associated with this serotype, Clone ET lj accounted for 76.5% of serogroup C isolates and 90.0% of serotyp e 2a strains. Although meningococcal disease occurred mostly in childr en under the age of 5 (9.7 cases per 100,000 children),,vith a peak in cidence for children under 1 (20.3 cases per 100,000 children), most f atalities occurred among teenagers (12 to 19 years old). The total fat ality rate was 11.5%, and serogroup C strains were responsible for 88. 9% of these fatalities. Thirteen strains had a reduced susceptibility to penicillin G, and 28 strains were resistant to sulfadiazine. One st rain was resistant to both rifampin and sulfadiazine and showed a redu ced susceptibility to penicillin G.