Incidence and epidemiological patterns of meningitis among children and adolescents in Qatar: A primary care–based study
TL;DR
The findings highlight the need to strengthen surveillance, improve data integration, and sustain vaccination efforts in line with the World Health Organization Defeating Meningitis by 2030 roadmap.
Abstract
ABSTRACT Background Meningitis remains an important public health problem, particularly among children. In Qatar, despite recent improvements in surveillance systems, comprehensive national data on meningitis epidemiology among children and adolescents are still limited. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted using surveillance-confirmed meningitis data from the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) electronic medical records and the Ministry of Public Health, Qatar surveillance system between January 2021 and December 2024. All confirmed meningitis cases among children and adolescents aged 0–19 years were included. Incidence rates were calculated by age group, year, and PHCC operational region using registered population denominators. Mean annual incidence rates were compared across regions using one-way analysis of variance. Results A total of 228 meningitis cases were reported during the study period. Viral meningitis was the most common etiology (84.2%), while bacterial meningitis was less frequent, with Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) being the main bacterial pathogen (11.0%). The overall incidence among children and adolescents was 9.31 per 100,000 population, with the highest burden observed among infants aged 0–1 year (50.44 per 100,000). Incidence decreased with increasing age. Regional variation was observed, with the Western region reporting the highest mean annual incidence (13.62 per 100,000), followed by the Northern and Central regions (p = 0.018). This variation was largely driven by viral meningitis. Conclusion This study provides the first national overview of meningitis epidemiology among children and adolescents in Qatar. Viral meningitis predominated, with the highest burden among infants, while S. pneumoniae remained the leading bacterial cause. The findings highlight the need to strengthen surveillance, improve data integration, and sustain vaccination efforts in line with the World Health Organization (WHO) Defeating Meningitis by 2030 roadmap.