Universal vaccination against meningococcal serogroup C and pneumococcal disease

In anticipation of general recommendations on the revision and possible expansion of the National Vaccination Programme (NVP), the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport asked the Health Council to advise her on universal vaccination against group C meningococci. Until recently, meningococcus C was a relatively unimportant cause of meningococcal disease in the Netherlands, which manifests itself as meningitis (inflammation of the cerebral membrane) or sepsis (blood poisoning). The importance of meningococci serogroup C as a cause of meningococcal disease has recently increased sharply, however.