Bacterial meningitis in Yaounde, Cameroon, 1999-2000.

All cephalo-spinal fluid (CS) samples sent to the Yaounde Pasteur Centre in Cameroon, between July 1999 and June 2000, were cultured and tested for soluble antigens. The percentage of positive samples was 10.4%. The main etiological agents detected were Streptococcus pneumoniae (56.2%), Haemophilus influenzae (18.5%.) et Neisseria meningitidis (13.4%). Most of these cases of bacterial meningitis were children (86.7%). The susceptibility of the isolates to antibiotics was investigated, The streptococci and meningococci were mostly susceptible to beta-lactams, but the Gram-negative bacteria were not. Combinations of amino-penicillin and aminoside or chloramphenicol continue to be effective, as are third generation cephalosporins used alone. Meningococci appear to have emerged during the year 199912000, with 23 such isolates identified, of which 17 were serogroup A, subtype P1-9, clone III-1, which was responsible for the second pandemic. It should also be noted that 4 strains of N. meningitidis of serogroup W135 were isolated in Yaounde.