Meningococcal infection – meningitis, septicaemia

Statutory notification alert

• Meningococcal infection is a notifiable infectious disease in Western Australia.
• Alert: cases must be reported urgently by telephone to the public health units (Healthy WA) within a few hours of first suspicion of diagnosis.
• See notifiable communicable disease case definitions (Word 1.29MB).
• Notifications should be made using the communicable disease notification form for metropolitan residents (PDF 209KB) or regional residents (PDF 208KB).
• For notification of regional residents see contact details of public health units.
• See also description of statutory medical notifications in Western Australia.

Public health management

Important information

• 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, Department of Health – Meningococcal disease (external site).
• Case follow-up: Is conducted by public health units (external site) and the Communicable Disease Control Directorate.

Guidelines for health providers

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

Guidelines for public health units

• Meningococcal Disease – 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

More information

• The Meningitis Centre (external site)
• The Amanda Young Foundation (external site)