Table 1. Characteristics of suspected meningitis cases with symptom onset from December 1, 2015 through March 31, 2017.
| Characteristic |
Number of suspected meningitis cases | Number of cases with CSF collected | Proportion of suspected cases with CSF collected | Number of CSF specimens tested by Tamale laboratory | Proportion of cases with CSF collected that were tested by Tamale laboratory | Confirmed* | S. pneumoniae | N. meningitidis | H. influenzae | >1 pathogen detected† | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | <5 | 280 | 275 | 98.2% | 111 | 40.4% | 48 | 4 | 40 | 1 | 3 |
| 5–14 | 424 | 410 | 96.7% | 232 | 56.6% | 151 | 47 | 101 | 1 | 2 | |
| 15–29 | 450 | 432 | 96.0% | 234 | 54.2% | 113 | 48 | 59 | 3 | 3 | |
| 30–59 | 312 | 294 | 94.2% | 165 | 56.1% | 72 | 46 | 22 | 0 | 4 | |
| ≥60 | 140 | 133 | 95.0% | 56 | 42.1% | 20 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 2 | |
| Missing | 8 | 8 | 100.0% | 3 | 37.5% | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Region | Upper West | 1020 | 985 | 96.6% | 412 | 41.8% | 168 | 81 | 77 | 4 | 6 |
| Northern | 594 | 567 | 95.5% | 398 | 70.2% | 241 | 72 | 159 | 2 | 8 | |
| Sex | Male | 833 | 808 | 97.0% | 412 | 51.0% | 215 | 80 | 122 | 3 | 10 |
| Female | 780 | 743 | 95.3% | 383 | 51.5% | 189 | 71 | 112 | 3 | 3 | |
| Missing | 1 | 1 | 100.0% | 1 | 100.0% | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| Total | 1614 | 1552 | 96.1% | 796 | 51.3% | 409 | 153 | 236 | 6 | 14 | |
*Confirmed by direct real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), culture, or latex agglutination as Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis, and/or Haemophilus influenzae.
†Of the 14 specimens that had more than 1 pathogen detected, 10 had N. meningitidis and S. pneumoniae detected, and 4 had S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae detected.