Background: The purpose of the study is to estimate the incidence of Haemophilus influenzae type b invasive disease (HibID) and meningococcal disease (MD) in Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain) for the years 1994-1995.
Material and methods: Data were obtained from the nominal registry of the surveillance system for reportable transmissible diseases of the Barcelona City Health Department, combining the reporting system with active surveillance, including microbiological reports and the review of hospital discharge registries to ensure completeness.
Results: During this two-years period there were 17 cases of HibID (12 meningitis), and for 12 cases there was a laboratory confirmation. The annual incidence rate can be estimated at 15.4 cases of HibID for 100,000 children below 5 years of age, and 4.5 cases for 100,000 children below 15 years. The annual incidence rates for Hib meningitis were 3.2 for 100,000 below 15 years. There were 60 cases of MD, and for 33 there was a laboratory confirmation, with a majority of serogroup B. The annual incidence rate of MD can be estimated at 32.6 cases for 100,000 below 5 years and 16 cases for 100,000 below 15 years. The incidence rate of meningococcal meningitis is at least 5.9 cases for 100,000 below 15 years of age.
Conclusions: These results confirm the relatively low incidence of Hib meningitis in Barcelona, Spain, while the Hib vaccine was not in systematic use, much lower than the incidence of MD. The incidence rates are similar to all other population-based studies in Spain, except for the Basque Country study.