A Survey of Meningitis in a Military Organization and Plotting its GIS Distribution

Aims: Meningitis is an infectious disease. In case it spreads to the military personnel living in dormitories in large numbers, it can cause high mortality. The present study was an attempt to examine the number of Meningitis cases, their types, and effective factors in its spread among Iranian Ground Forces (IGF). The distribution pattern of Meningitis in different parts of Iran was also examined.
Method: In this cross-sectional research, records of patients with meningitis from mid2006 to 2011 (5.5 years) were checked. All cases reported to IGF Health Office were included in the study. Variables such as age, military status (formal or conscripted), meningitis type, month and year of disease occurrence, recovery status, educational status of patient's military unit, and place of disease occurrence were checked. In addition, the distribution map of the disease was prepared using ArcGIS 9.3.
Results: Totally, 59 cases were reported to IGF Health Office. The mean age of patients was 20.09. 86.4% of the reported cases were in conscripts. Meningococcal meningitis was the most frequent type, and pneumococcal and viral types stood next. 63% of cases had occurred in training units. The highest and lowest incidences of disease were observed in 2006 and 2010 respectively. The number of Meningitis cases was highest in February. The death rate was 10.2 %. The highest number of cases was reported in Tehran, Kerman, and Khouzestan provinces respectively.
Conclusion: Since all the patients were conscripts or formal trainees, permanent residence in military dormitories was one of the most important risk factors of meningitis morbidity. Meningitis incidence trend has been descending over the past few years, and hygiene programs have reduced the number of reported cases. GIS map of the case distribution was not concordant that much to GIS map of cumulative incidence mostly due to the differences in the number of military personnel in different provinces. However, disease mortality was similar to other references.