THERE has been a threefold increase in the number of cases of bacterial meningitis - including meningococcal septicaemia - reported in the past five years.
The number of cases jumped sharply from 131 in 1990 to 382 in 1995, while there was an increase of over 50 per cent between 1994 and 1995, from 241 to 382, according to a report published yesterday.
The Irish statistics compare unfavourably with those in a number of other EU countries, the report the Working Group on Bacterial Meningitis concludes. The incidence of meningococcal infection is 6.9 per 100,000 of the population in Ireland, compared to 3 per 100,000 in the UK.
However, as has been shown in countries where the disease has been efficiently reported and closely monitored over many years, the occurrence of meningococcal infection is cyclical, the report says. "Increases in incidence may occur periodically without apparent reason, persist for a number of years and then begin to fall again towards previous lower levels."
The report adds that increasing immunity to infection with particular strains of organism may help to partially explain this phenomenon. Preliminary date for some parts of the country for 1996 may give some indication that such a reverse may have begun in Ireland. Nevertheless, the report warns that the disease will need to be closely monitored over the next few years before any trend can be confirmed.
Particular emphasis on the early diagnosis and proper management of the condition should be given in the continuing education and training of all doctors, the report recommends, and all GPs should carry penicillin in their emergency bags.
The Irish mortality rate from the disease in the 10 years between 1985 and 1995 has been highly variable, the lowest rates were in 1989 and 1990, when 16 people died in each year. The highest was in 1986, when out of 147 cases 32 people died. A similar number died in 1992 out of 225 cases. The report stresses that while the figures give some broad indication of the level of reported infection, they should be treated with caution.
Most cases of bacterial meningitis/septicaemia in Ireland are caused by the meningococcus organism. About 10 per cent of the population are healthy carriers of the organism, but it is not known why some people carry and remain well while others become seriously ill.