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Volume 25, Number 3—March 2019
Synopsis

University-Based Outbreaks of Meningococcal Disease Caused by Serogroup B, United States, 2013–2018

Heidi M. SoetersComments to Author , Lucy A. McNamara, Amy E. Blain, Melissa Whaley, Jessica R. MacNeil, Susan Hariri, Sarah A. Mbaeyi, and for the Serogroup B Meningococcal Disease University Outbreak Group
Author affiliations: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Main Article

Table 1

University-based outbreaks of meningococcal disease caused by serogroup B, United States, 2013–2018

State of university
 Outbreak period
 No. cases (deaths)
 Approximate no. undergraduates
 Clonal complex of outbreak strain
 Sequence type of outbreak strain
 References
New Jersey 2013 Mar–2014 Mar 9 (1)* 5,000 41/44 409 (15,16)
California 2013 Nov 4† 19,000 32 32 (17)
Rhode Island 2015 Jan–Feb 2 3,700 Unassigned 9069 (18–21)
Oregon 2015 Jan–May 7 (1)‡ 20,000 32 32 (22,23)
California 2016 Jan–Feb 2§ 5,000 32 11910 (24)
New Jersey 2016 Mar–Apr 2 35,000 11 11 (25)
Wisconsin 2016 Oct 3 30,000 32 11556 (26,27)
Oregon 2016 Nov–2017 Nov 5 25,000 32 32 (28)
Massachusetts¶ 2017 Oct–2018 Feb 3 26,000 41/44 41 (29)
Pennsylvania 2017 Nov 2# 3,600 32** 8758**

*Two of the cases occurred in close contacts of undergraduate students at the outbreak-affected university: 1 in a high school student who stayed in an undergraduate dormitory and 1 in a student at a different university.
†One additional associated case that occurred in March 2013 was identified after retrospective case review. An additional case occurred 2 years later in a close contact of an undergraduate student who may have been connected to this outbreak.
‡One case occurred in a close contact of undergraduate students at the outbreak-affected university.
§One additional suspected case with inconclusive lab results occurred in February 2016 in a student previously vaccinated with 2 doses of MenB vaccine and who received antimicrobial chemoprophylaxis the day before symptom onset.
¶Cases occurred at 2 universities in a college consortium in the same geographic area. The first 2 cases occurred at University 1 and the third case occurred at University 2.
#Cases were close contacts and members of the same athletic team.
**An isolate was available for only 1 of the 2 cases, so typing results refer to the single case isolate.

Main Article

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Main Article

1Members of the group are listed at the end of this article.

Page created: February 19, 2019
Page updated: February 19, 2019
Page reviewed: February 19, 2019
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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