Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
IJID Regions, cilt.19, 2026 (ESCI, Scopus)
Objectives Vaccine-preventable invasive bacterial diseases remain a public health concern in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. To address surveillance and diagnostic gaps, the Meningitis and Septicemia Mapping Network (MenMap) was launched as a prospective, multicenter sentinel surveillance system to strengthen laboratory capacity and regional collaboration in Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq. This study reports the first-year MenMap findings (December 2023 to November 2024), describing bacterial meningitis epidemiology, pathogen distribution, vaccination status, clinical presentation, and outcomes among laboratory-confirmed cases in Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq. Methods Prospective sentinel hospital-based surveillance was implemented in 16 hospitals, targeting children aged 1 month to 18 years. Suspected cases were defined according to World Health Organization criteria and included patients presenting with clinical signs of meningitis and undergoing cerebrospinal fluid and/or blood sampling. Standardized protocols included clinical evaluations, real-time polymerase chain reaction for pathogen detection, and continuous monitoring systems. An external quality assessment scheme ensured laboratory diagnostic quality and accuracy. Results Between December 2023 and November 2024, 2104 suspected cases were reported, with 191 (9%) confirmed . S. pneumoniae was the most prevalent (90.0%), followed by H. influenzae (7.9%) and N. meningitidis (2.1%). Most confirmed cases were from Iraq (63.3%), and 62% across the three countries occurred in children aged <5 years. Conclusion MenMap strengthens bacterial meningitis surveillance in the MENA region and provides critical evidence to support vaccine policy decisions, including expansion of pneumococcal and Haemophilus influenzae type b immunization programs, alongside improvements in pathogen detection and characterization.