Gastrointestinal infections in Novosibirsk. Outbreak of serous meningitis: preliminary results of investigation

Specialists of the Novosibirsk State Sanitation and Epidemiological Service Center, SRC VB VECTOR and Novosibirsk infectious diseases hospitals applying various approaches found out the main reason of an outbreak of serous meningitis – enterovirus type 30.

Gastrointestinal infections in Novosibirsk. Outbreak of serous meningitis: preliminary results of investigation.

Specialists of the Novosibirsk State Sanitation and Epidemiological Service Center, SRC VB VECTOR and Novosibirsk infectious diseases hospitals applying various approaches found out the main reason of an outbreak of serous meningitis – enterovirus type 30.

Viral meningitis is caused by enterovirus, by parotitis virus and by herpes virus occasionally and by some other diseases. Prime attention was devoted to the nature of the pathogen definition because of its necessity for treatment, for the virus origin place determination, for incubation period duration and for the outbreak development prognosis.

Disease Statistics:

Meningitis is more wide-spread in tropical and subtropical countries than in temperate belt countries like Russia. From 10000 to 40000 viral meningitis cases are registered in the USA annually. These cases are caused by enterovirus infections basically. The last large outbreaks in the USA were registered in the year 2002 and in the year 2003.

Viral meningitis is spread far less in Russia. Enterovirus infection outbreaks were registered in Sverdlovsk region – about 400 citizens in the year 2000, in Irkutsk region – about 100 cases in the year 2001, about 100 cases in the year 2002 in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and in Republic of Kalmykia about 500 cases during the same year. The large outbreak occurred in Irkutsk in the year 2003, over 600 people, incidence rate was registered in Buryatia and in Chita during the same period. According to investigation results, drinking faulty water and swimming in infected by the pathogen reservoirs caused all those outbreaks. Large outbreaks were observed in Ekaterinburg and in Novosibirsk.

New disease cases stopped shortly after taking appropriate sanitary measures: water quality control, open water swimming prohibition and public places disinfection.

About 100 unconcentrated cases are registered in Novosibirsk and in Novosibirsk region annually.