{"doi":"10.32394/pe.76.35","title":"Meningitis and encephalitis in Poland in 2020","abstract":"<p><strong>ABSTRACT</strong><br /><strong>INTRODUCTION.</strong> Meningitis and/or encephalitis are one of the main infectious diseases of the nervous system. These diseases are most commonly caused by bacterial and viral etiological factors. In this publication, meningitis and/or encephalitis caused by Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae and those with a viral origin – in Poland, most often caused by tick-borne encephalitis virus – are presented in detail. In addition to epidemiological surveillance, immunoprophylaxis in the form of mandatory and recommended vaccinations is used in Poland to prevent these infections.<br /><strong>AIM OF THE STUDY.</strong> The aim of this study was to to assess the epidemiological situation of meningitis and encephalitis in Poland, in 2020.<br /><strong>MATERIAL AND METHODS.</strong> To analyse the epidemiological situation of neuroinfections in Poland were used data sent to NIPH NIH – NRI by Voivodeship Sanitary and Epidemiological Stations and published in the annual bulletins: “Infectious diseases and poisonings in Poland in 2020” and “Protective vaccination in Poland in 2020” and individual epidemiological interviews registered in the EpiBaza system.<br /><strong>RESULTS.</strong> In 2020, a total of 831 cases of meningitis and/or encephalitis were registered in Poland. This is a decrease in incidence of up to 62.9% compared to 2019. For infections of bacterial etiology, including cases of neuroborreliosis (incidence of 2.40 per 100,000), the number of cases decreased by 60.4% (from 931 to 369).<br />In the viral infection group, there was a 64.9% decrease (from 1,318 to 462 cases). Of all registered cases, 56% were infections with a viral etiology. Compared to 2019, the number of cases with an S. pneumoniae etiology decreased by 61.3% and for N. meningitidis by 41.1%. It is interesting to note that, in the case of H. influenzae, we can speak of a 20% increase in cases compared to the previous year. In addition, we can see a decrease in the incidence of tick-borne encephalitis – from 265 in 2019 to 158 in 2020 (a decrease of 40.4%).<br /><strong>SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS.</strong> Overall, a downward trend in incidence was shown for both bacterial and viral meningitis and/or encephalitis. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the introduction of restrictions on personto-person contact and various forms of activity, resulting in a reduction in pathogen transmission, were key to the significant reduction in the number of meningitis and/or encephalitis cases in 2020, but a reduction in the availability of medical facilities or the completeness of case reports due to the burden of anti-epidemic measures on the Sanitary Inspectorate cannot be excluded either. Only in the case of cases caused by H. influenzae was a slight increase observed compared to the previous year (12 versus 10 cases). Meningoencephalitis and/or encephalitis, due to its wide etiological range, poses a major challenge to the health care system, particularly in terms of correct clinical diagnosis.</p> <p><strong>STRESZCZENIE</strong><br /><strong>WSTĘP.</strong> Zapalenia opon mózgowo-rdzeniowych i/lub mózgu są jednymi z głównych chorób zakaźnych układu nerwowego. Choroby te najczęściej spowodowane są przez czynniki etiologiczne o charakterze bakteryjnym oraz wirusowym. W opracowaniu szczegółowo przedstawiono zapalenia opon mózgowo-rdzeniowych i/lub mózgu w 2020 r. wywołane przez Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae oraz o podłożu wirusowym – w Polsce, najczęściej wywoływane przez wirus kleszczowego zapalenia mózgu.<br />W celu zapobiegania tym zakażeniom stosowana jest immunoprofilaktyka w postaci szczepień obowiązkowych i zalecanych.<br /><strong>CEL PRACY.</strong> Celem pracy była oce","journal":"Przeglad Epidemiologiczny","year":2022,"id":280533,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":9,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9578,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2022-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":786198,"name":"J Zbrzeźniak","orcid":null,"position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":430971,"name":"Iwona Paradowska‐Stankiewicz","orcid":"0000-0001-7222-1337","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":955442,"name":"Karolina Mrozowska-Nyckowska","orcid":null,"position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":9,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-19T00:29:03.247347Z","pmid":"21913462","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}