{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]],"date-time":"2026-10-13T16:51:37Z","timestamp":1791910297565,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,24]],"date-time":"2025-10-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1761264000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Introduction: Despite the advances in its prevention, invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) remains a serious health problem worldwide due to its high morbidity and mortality, including in Romania, with 22% mortality rate. The objectives were to describe the trends of IMD cases admitted to a tertiary care hospital in Romania, over 24 years, and the case fatality rate (CFR) by age, year of admission, and Neisseria meningitidis serogroups. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in IMD patients admitted to the National Institute for Infectious Diseases \u201cProf. Dr. Matei Bals\u201d, Bucharest, Romania, between 2001 and 2024. Results: A total of 256 IMD patients were admitted, 171 under fourteen years, out of which 75 were infants. Most cases were reported before 2008. The case distribution showed 90 patients (35%) with meningitis, 84 (32%) with meningococcaemia, and 82 (32%) with an association of both. Serogroup B was the most frequently and steadily found (58 cases). The overall CFR was 12%. CFR was highest in infants younger than 6 months (19%) and meningococcaemia cases (29%). Conclusions: In our study, IDM had the highest frequency and CFR in infants and meningococcaemia cases. The trends showed a decline in cases after 2008. Serogroup B was the most prevalent and stable strain over 24 years.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens14111083","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,27]],"date-time":"2025-10-27T00:51:42Z","timestamp":1761526302000},"page":"1083","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Invasive Meningococcal Disease\u2014Changes in Epidemiologic Trends and Outcome over 24 Years in a Tertiary Care Hospital from Romania"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Constan\u021ba-Angelica","family":"Vi\u0219an","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Dentistry, \u201cCarol Davila\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania"},{"name":"\u201cProf. Dr. Matei Bal\u015f\u201d National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 021105 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Miruna","family":"Norocea","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"\u201cProf. Dr. Matei Bal\u015f\u201d National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 021105 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"M\u0103d\u0103lina-Elena","family":"Neniu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"\u201cProf. Dr. Matei Bal\u015f\u201d National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 021105 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anu\u021ba","family":"Bila\u0219co","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Dentistry, \u201cCarol Davila\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania"},{"name":"\u201cProf. Dr. Matei Bal\u015f\u201d National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 021105 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Magdalena","family":"Vasile","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"\u201cProf. Dr. Matei Bal\u015f\u201d National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 021105 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Diana-Elena","family":"Vi\u0219an","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"\u201cProf. Dr. N.C. Paulescu\u201d National Institute for Diabetes, Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases, 020475 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0458-1012","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andreea Ioana","family":"Tudor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"\u201cProf. Dr. Matei Bal\u015f\u201d National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 021105 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anca Cristina","family":"Dr\u0103g\u0103nescu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"\u201cProf. Dr. Matei Bal\u015f\u201d National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 021105 Bucharest, Romania"},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, \u201cCarol Davila\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6514-0122","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ana Maria","family":"Tudor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Dentistry, \u201cCarol Davila\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania"},{"name":"\u201cProf. Dr. Matei Bal\u015f\u201d National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 021105 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (2025, September 17). 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