Key Points

• The incidence of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) cases reported in Normandy in 2022 is on the rise compared to 2020 and 2021, which were marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and a very low number of reported cases. This increase is continuing in 2023 and appears to be returning to the levels observed before 2020 (provisional 2023 data, as of November 16).

• The resurgence of IIM could be explained by the resumption of meningococcal transmission in a population where adherence to preventive measures against respiratory infections is lower than during the pandemic. The return of IIM is occurring against the backdrop of concurrent epidemics of respiratory viral infections at the end of 2022.

• The meningococcal vaccination strategy will soon be reassessed by the French National Authority for Health (HAS) based on recent trends in the epidemiology of IIM.