Meningococcal Disease, Invasive

• Case counts (2016-2025), population estimates (2016-2023), & population projections (2024-2025): Public Health Ontario.
• Query: Case counts of reportable diseases by public health unit and year. Toronto, ON: Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion; extracted on March 9, 2026.

Public Health Agency of Canada

• Invasive meningococcal disease: Symptoms and treatment

Caring for Kids

• Meningococcal Disease

Ministry of Health

• Meningococcal disease fact sheet

North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit

• See also Meningitis

Report to the Health Unit immediately by fax (705-482-0670) and phone at 705-474-1400 or toll free at 1-800-563-2808, ext. 5229 if invasive meningococcal disease is suspected or confirmed as per Ontario Regulation 135/18 and amendments under the Health Protection and Promotion Act, R.S.O., c.H.7.

After hours, weekends, and holidays, call 705-474-1400 then press 0 to speak with the Answering Service. The on-call CDC Public Health Nurse will get back to you as soon as possible.

Individuals diagnosed with meningococcal infection should remain at home until at least 24 hours after starting appropriate antibiotics.

Follow the direction of your healthcare provider, public health case manager, or occupational health at your workplace.

Invasive meningococcal disease due to serogroups A, B, C, W, and Y is preventable by vaccination. Check your vaccination records or call the Vaccine Preventable Diseases program at 705-474-1400 or toll free at 1-800-563-2808, ext. 5252 to book a vaccination appointment.

Public Health Agency of Canada

• Meningococcal vaccines: Canadian Immunization Guide

Canadian Paediatric Society

• Guidelines for the management of suspected and confirmed bacterial meningitis in Canadian children older than 2 months of age

In healthcare settings, droplet precautions are to be continued until 24 hours after the start of effective therapy.

Public Health Ontario

• Neisseria meningitidis - Real-time PCR

Close contacts of invasive meningococcal disease are:

• Household contacts
• Children and staff in contact with the case in childcare settings
• Persons who have had direct nose of mouth contamination with the case’s oral/nasal secretions (for example: kissing, sharing cigarettes, toothbrushes, eating utensils, drinking bottles)
• Health care workers who have had intensive unprotected contact (without wearing a mask) with an infected person such as intubation, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, or closely examining the oropharynx
• Persons who share sleeping arrangements with the case
• Airline passengers sitting immediately on either side of the case, but not across the aisle, when the total time spent aboard the aircraft was at least 8 hours.

Close contacts of Invasive Meningococcal Disease should be offered antimicrobial chemoprophylaxis as soon as possible. Prophylaxis given greater than 14 days after an exposure may be of little to no value. 

See the Ministry of Health’s Infectious Diseases Protocol, Appendix 1, Disease: Meningococcal Disease Invasive, Table 1: Recommended chemoprophylaxis for Meningococcal Disease for recommended regimens and additional information. 

In addition to antimicrobial chemoprophylaxis, some close contacts are eligible for immunoprophylaxis with a serogroup-specific meningococcal vaccine where indicated (if the strain of meningococcal is caused by a vaccine-preventable serogroup).

See the Canadian Immunization Guide – Meningococcal Vaccines for more information.

Chemoprophylaxis is generally not recommended for casual contacts such as school, work or transportation contacts, social contacts, persons without direct contact with the case, and health care workers without direct exposure to a case’s nasal/oral secretions.

Public Health Ontario

• Invasive meningococcal disease

Public Health Agency of Canada

• Invasive meningococcal disease: For health professionals

Ministry of Health - Ontario Public Health Standards

• Infectious Disease Protocol: Appendix 1: Case Definitions and Disease-Specific Information: Meningococcal disease, invasive