Healthcare providers should take the following actions:
- Train staff to recognize all signs and symptoms of meningococcal disease, including signs or symptoms of meningitis as well as meningococcal septicemia
- Review vaccination status and proactively offer the MenACWY vaccine to adult patients who are at increased risk and have not been vaccinated within the past 5 years
- Maintain heightened index of suspicion for meningococcal disease
Promptly Treat Suspected Meningococcal Disease
If you suspect meningococcal disease, treat immediately with an extended-spectrum cephalosporin, such as cefotaxime or ceftriaxone. Do not use penicillin or ampicillin for treatment until susceptibility to penicillin has been confirmed. Consult with your hospital’s infectious disease specialist for guidance on appropriate empirical therapy. More details are provided in the April 2024 Arlington Provider Letter, based on guidance specific to the 2022 outbreak.
Contact Arlington County Public Health Division Staff Immediately.
Call Arlington County Public Health Division staff immediately to report your suspicion of meningococcal disease and for guidance on appropriate testing and control measures:
- Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m., call 703-228-5200, option #1
- Nights and weekends, call 703-558-2222 and ask for the Public Health Duty Officer
Administer PEP and Vaccinate Close Contacts
Follow current CDC and VDH guidance to provide PEP using the correct antibiotic (rifampin, ceftriaxone, or azithromycin), as appropriate. Do not use ciprofloxacin as PEP.
Follow recommended vaccination strategy for close contacts. Vaccination with MenACWY vaccine for individuals if they are:
|
Ages 11 years or older
|
– OR – |
At high risk for meningococcal disease due to medical conditions (asplenia, sickle cell anemia, complement deficiency, HIV) |
| – AND – |
|
Have not received a MenACWY vaccine
|
Test for Meningococcal Disease
Meningococcal disease is lab-confirmed by culture of N. meningitidis or gram-negative diplococci from a normally sterile site such as blood or cerebrospinal fluid or purpuric lesions. Culture is the gold standard of meningococcal disease diagnosis. However, a PCR assay may be useful in cases, particularly when the patient was treated with antibiotics prior to specimen collection.
Contact the Arlington County Public Health Division to coordinate sending case specimens or isolates to the Virginia state public health laboratory for serotyping.
- Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m., call 703-228-5200, option #1
- Nights and weekends, call 703-558-2222 and ask for the Public Health Duty Officer
Proactively offer the meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenACWY) to individuals who are:
| At high risk for meningococcal disease due to medical conditions (asplenia, sickle cell anemia, complement deficiency, HIV) |
| – AND – |
| Have not received a MenACWY vaccine within the previous 5 years. |
MenACWY vaccines can be administered at the same visit as other vaccines.
Stay informed on vaccines for meningococcal disease:
Visit Arlington County Public Health Division's Meningococcal Disease page for more general information.