Background and objective: We aimed to study the behavior of meningococcal disease in Catalonia during the period 1990-1997, identifying the possible epidemic periods.
Material and method: All cases reported to the notifiable disease system which fulfilled the criteria of confirmed or suspected cases during this period were analyzed.
Results: The global incidence rate was 4.8/100,000. The incidence rate for serogroup B was 1.9/100,000 and for serogroup C 0.8/100,000. The disease incidence tended to diminish slightly during the study period, with a constant annual growth of 0.11/100,000. The increased incidence of serogroup C cases in 1996-1997 was associated with an increased incidence in the 10-19 years age group.
Conclusions: Globally, in the 1990-1997 period, the disease incidence tended to diminish slightly. During the last two years, an increased incidence was observed, mostly due to the increase in the number of serogroup C cases. This fact was associated with a change in the age pattern of cases, which increased in the 10-19 years age group, as observed in other countries and coinciding with epidemic periods or greater meningococcal activity.