IMD Exploration of age and region

Clinical diagnosis of IMD is difficult as the disease develops very rapidly from non-specific flu-like symptoms.  The later stages of IMD, especially septicaemia, can be much more distinctive to a doctor, but a laboratory confirmation of diagnosis is still important.  This confirmation is mostly done either by growing the meningococcus, a process called culture, or by detecting the genetic material, the DNA, of the meningococcus in the patient.

The age group of the patients and their geographical distribution is important in assisting the public health response to the disease.  In England, like many high-income temperate countries, most disease is in small children, with elevated levels also seen in young adults and the elderly.  IMD is nationally distributed, with some variation in rates in different regions.