Neisseria meningitidis pathogen is not so easy to recognize: cultures, the gold standard, are often not enough sensitive. On the other hand real time PCR is much more efficient but not so widespread. For this reason, the estimated number of meningococcal infections is much lower than the real number.
Professor Chiara Azzari (Florence, Italy) speaks about the importance and efficacy of the vaccine in different age groups (especially young children and adolescents), and discusses the different possibilities available today.