[The validity of the system of obligatory disease declaration for the epidemiologic surveillance of meningococcal meningitis]

Abstract

In Spain meningococcic meningitis is a disease of obligatory declaration which is declared under the name of "Meningococcic infection". In this section other process are also included with the declaration being made under suspicion, with no knowledge of the degree of fulfillment and the significance of the official data. To know this the clinical history of meningitis patients of all the hospitals in Aragon from January 1985 to December 1988 were reviewed comparing the results with those from the system of obligatory disease declaration. The degree of fulfillment for meningococcic meningitis was 90% with the annual rates of incidence of meningococcic meningitis being 1.11 to 2.13 fold higher, according to hospitalary data, higher than the rates of the obligatory disease declaration system.