Meningococcal disease: Clinical profile of 99 patients.

Ninety-nine patients with meningcoccal disease were admitted to the medical department of King Fahd Hospital, Medina during the Haj season of 1407H. (August 1987G). Neisseria meningitidis group A (Clone III-I) was responsible for this outbreak. This bacteria was brought into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by the pilgrims from South Asia who were carriers of the disease. Middle age and elderly seemed to be vulnerable to meningococcal disease. The majority of the patients presented with fever, headache, vomiting, skin rash, and signs of meningeal irritation. Diabetics afflicted with meningococcal disease fared badly; of 13 diabetics in the study, eight died. The mortality rate in our patients was 12.1%, a figure comparing favorably with other studies. The factors which influenced mortality included age above 50, shock, coma, renal failure, DIC, upper gastrointestinal bleeding, female sex and other associated diseases. The outbreak was successfully controlled by mass vaccination with polyvalent vaccine of the pilgrims and local population along with chemoprophylaxis with rifampicin.