Completeness and timeliness of reporting of meningococcal disease--Maine, 2001-2006.

Neisseria meningitidis is an important cause of invasive bacterial disease in the United States, with a total of 1,077 cases of meningococcal disease reported in 2007. The case-fatality ratio is 10%--14%, and 11%--19% of survivors have long-term sequelae. In the United States, approximately 98% of cases of meningococcal disease occur sporadically; outbreaks are uncommon. Chemoprophylaxis is the primary means of preventing meningococcal disease among close contacts of patients in sporadic cases, and the ability of health departments to identify these contacts and provide treatment depends on the completeness and timeliness of disease reporting. To assess these attributes in meningococcal disease surveillance in Maine, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) analyzed public health surveillance data from MDHHS and hospital discharge data from the Maine Health Data Organization (MHDO) for the period 2001--2006. This report describes the results of that analysis, which indicated that the completeness of reporting of meningococcal disease in Maine during this period was approximately 98%. Of cases reported to MDHHS, 56% were reported within 1 day of hospital admission. Passive disease surveillance efforts appear to have achieved near complete reporting of meningococcal disease in Maine; however, timeliness of reporting was sometimes suboptimal. Evaluation of surveillance efforts should be repeated periodically to determine whether completeness of reporting remains high and timeliness improves.