Dangerous reversal: the incidence of meningitis in Russia has doubled

Since the beginning of 2025, 1.2 thousand cases of meningitis have already been registered in Russia, which is twice as many as in the whole of 2024, said Vladimir Chulanov, chief freelance infectious disease specialist at the Ministry of Health. At the same time, a dangerous deadly infection is spreading now primarily at the expense of migrants, the participants of the meeting noted. This year, the mortality rate from meningitis has also increased, although by only 1 percentage point. For information on how the incidence profile is changing, see the Izvestia article.

How many Russians have meningitis

In 2024, more than 600 cases of meningococcal infection among adults were recorded in Russia, and since the beginning of 2025, twice as many — over 1.2 thousand, said Vladimir Chulanov, chief freelance specialist for infectious diseases at the Russian Ministry of Health.

"Previously, children dominated among the dead, but in the last three years we have seen that the proportion of adults among the dead has increased significantly,— he said, speaking at a workshop in the State Duma on the problems of meningococcal vaccination. — The mortality rate among the adult population in 2025 is about 16%, while for people over 60 this figure exceeds 30%.

Meningococcal infection is a group of diseases caused by a bacterium that can affect the nervous system, heart, lungs, liver, joints, skin and mucous membranes. The disease can manifest itself as an asymptomatic carrier, as well as fatal lesions of the central nervous system.

At the same time, almost every fatal case of meningitis attracts public attention due to the rapid course of the disease. So, in June 2025, a 23-year-old resident of Nizhny Novgorod fell into a coma and died of meningitis. In February of this year, two children died from meningococcal infection — a third-grader in the Novosibirsk region and a baby in Yekaterinburg.

Inflammatory sign: why the issue of mandatory vaccination against meningitis is overdue

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In the first five months of 2025, 1,266 patients with generalized forms of meningococcal infection A, B and C were registered in Russia — these are 948 adults and 318 children, said Yuri Lobzin, president of the Children's Scientific and Clinical Center for Infectious Diseases of the FMBA of Russia. At the same time, 384 people (284 adults and 100 children) were infected the most in April 2025.

In January, according to him, the diagnosis was made 139 times, in February — 135, in March — 326, in May — 282.

— Meningococcal infection is the highest in mortality among all vaccine—controlled diseases, - said Yuri Lobzin. — It is incomparable with influenza and covid, where the mortality rate is 0.5–2.5%. The mortality rate was 19% in 2023 and 15% in 2024.

According to him, several serotypes of meningococcal infection are circulating in Russia at once: serotypes A, B, C, W and Y are detected in different regions.

Moscow is a leader in the incidence of meningitis, said Alexey Rtishchev, chief freelance specialist in infectious diseases in children in the Central Administrative District of Moscow. The capital accounts for more than 50% of reported infections annually.

— In the last three years, the bias among the sick has been towards the adult population, this is due to migrant workers. At the same time, the proportion of sick children is generally decreasing. For the first time, we see that the incidence among adults in Moscow exceeds that of children," said Alexey Rtishchev.

Why did the jump happen?

In 2025, there are group outbreaks of meningococcal infection among the adult population, about 60% of those infected are migrant workers, Natalia Pshenichnaya, Deputy Director for Clinical and Analytical Work at the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor, confirmed.

— Routine vaccination of children in Moscow has shown that only 15% of all children are ill. In the capital, meningococcal vaccination has been carried out since 2017 for epidemiological reasons, and since 2021 it has been included in the regional vaccination calendar," she noted.

Natalia Pshenichnaya said that the vaccination of migrants is not carried out in due volume. In addition, she suggested vaccinating children before school and first-year students against meningococcal infection in order to prevent the epidemiological situation from worsening.

"Currently, serogroup A prevails among the circulating meningococcal serovariants. Protection against this serotype is available in vaccines, therefore, in the near future, it is necessary to maximize vaccination coverage for the adult population at risk, as well as children in the country's regions," she said.

And Vladimir Chulanov noted that "it would be right if employers who invite migrant workers to Russia took responsibility for their vaccination."

Every tenth patient with meningitis dies, and every fifth surviving patient remains disabled, said Yuri Zhulev, co-chairman of the All-Russian Union of Patients.

Even with active professional treatment, the outcome of the disease is unclear, said Irina Koroleva, head of the Laboratory of Epidemiology of Meningococcal Infection and Purulent Bacterial Meningitis at the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor.

"Moreover, it is difficult for a patient to make a diagnosis, especially in the early stages of infection," she said.

According to her, in 2025, seven foci of group morbidity were registered in Russia.

The meningococcal vaccine, according to the roadmap for the implementation of the strategy for the immunoprophylaxis of infectious diseases until 2035, should appear on the National Vaccination Calendar in 2025. At the same time, the Ministry of Health announced the beginning of the development of relevant amendments to the law "On the Immunoprophylaxis of infectious diseases" back in 2023.