RETROSPECTIVE SURVEY ON THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF HAEMOPHILUS-INFLUENZAE TYPE-B MENINGITIS IN ITALY (1987-91)

A retrospective survey on the epidemiology of H. Influenzae type b (Hi b) meningitis was carried out in seven Italian hospitals. During the p eriod 1987-1991, 95 (16.3%) Hib meningitis cases out of 581 bacterial meningitis cases were observed. The proportion of Hib meningitis was l owest in 1987 (11.3%); elevated in 1988 (17.9%); thereafter it did not change. A male preponderance was observed (Sex ratio 1.6). The age di stribution showed that 93.7% of cases occurred in subjects < 5 years, 53.7% of cases in those < 1 year. Although Hib meningitis accounts for a small proportion of all bacterial meningitis, it is also a major pr oblem in Italy in early childhood, because nearly all cases occur in c hildren < 5 years.