Epidemiology of invasive meningococcal disease in the United States: review of recent data and identified risk factors

Introduction: Tracking the spread of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) in the United States is important for identifying risk factors and devising public health strategies to prevent infection. Methods: The epidemiology of IMD in the United States before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic (2016-2024) was assessed using surveillance data from the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) and the Enhanced Meningococcal Disease Surveillance program (EMDS). Results: IMD case numbers declined during the pandemic (2020-2021) to 208 in 2021 but rebounded to 312 in 2022 and have continued to increase through 2024 (provisionally 477 cases). In 2022, serogroup C was the predominant serogroup (107 cases), followed by serogroup B (61 cases). Except during the pandemic, IMD cases were higher among those attending versus not attending college. During and after the pandemic, groups with the highest IMD incidence were those