Meningococcal Disease Is a Growing Health Threat

In June, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that they were working with Florida public health authorities on a large and growing outbreak of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) concentrated among gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men (MSM). While IMD cases have decreased in the United States since the 1990s, outbreaks have increasingly popped up among these men and other populations across the U.S. The U.S. has critical resources to draw upon to strengthen our timely responses to IMD outbreaks, but these services need more resources, including reliable funding. Our best way to respond to IMD and other outbreaks also means simultaneously responding to persistent public health issues; policy and funding responses should bolster ongoing efforts to treat and prevent HIV and STIs as they are central to and enhance our response to other infectious diseases outbreaks.

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