Experts from across the region and beyond convened for the latest meeting of the Meningitis and Septicemia Mapping Network (MenMap) on August 19, 2024. The purpose of this meeting was to review progress and plan the next steps in efforts to monitor and prevent invasive bacterial diseases (IBDs). The meeting focused on updates from Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan regarding meningitis and septicemia surveillance where the network currently operates.
A key focus of the August meeting was MenMap’s External Quality Assessment (EQA) process, led by Co-Chair of the Scientific Committee and Head of the Invasive Bacterial Infections Unit at the Institut Pasteur in France, Prof. Muhamed-Kheir Taha. The EQA is a crucial step in enhancing credibility and confidence of the laboratories’ services and in ensuring that laboratories in the three participating countries—Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan—are following rigorous standards in diagnosing invasive bacterial diseases using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing.
Afterwards, representatives from Iraq, Egypt, and Jordan provided detailed updates on their meningitis surveillance programs, reflecting MenMap’s achievements and ongoing challenges.
Looking Ahead: Upcoming Workshop and Scientific Advancements
The meeting also served as a precursor to a workshop titled “MenMap in the Region: Advancing Meningitis Surveillance and Laboratory Capacities,” scheduled for September 15 during EMPHNET’s Eighth Regional Conference. The workshop brought together experts to discuss new strategies for diagnosing and preventing IBDs, with a focus on real-time PCR technology.
Keynote speakers, including Chair of the MenMap Scientific Committee and Chief Scientist at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Norway, Prof. Dominique Caugant; Chair of the MenMap Steering Committee and Consultant Clinical Scientist at the UK Health Security Agency, Prof. Ray Borrow; and Prof. Taha lead discussions on global meningococcal disease epidemiology and the role of vaccines in reducing bacterial meningitis and septicemia cases.
Despite ongoing challenges, the MenMap network continues to strengthen its surveillance efforts and laboratory capacities, helping to reduce the burden of meningitis and septicemia across the region.
MenMap is an international initiative aimed at bridging gaps in research, clinical practice, and public health policies to prevent bacterial meningitis and septicemia caused by Neisseria meningitidis (N. meningitidis), Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae), and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib). The network, composed of public and private sector researchers, seeks to bolster laboratory diagnosis, epidemiological surveillance, and knowledge transfer to policymakers and healthcare providers in countries where the diseases are most prevalent.
