THE IMPORTANCE OF IMMUNIZATION PROGRAM IN THE DECREASE OF MENINGITIS CASES IN AMAPÁ STATE BETWEEN 2007 AND 2013

Introduction and Objective: Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges caused by bacteria, viruses and / or fungi, whose transmission can occur by respiratory secretions or other forms of close contact, easy transferability and difficult to control. So, we tried to demonstrate the importance of the introduction of Brazil‘s vaccination program in 2010 in the state of Amapá and its relation to the reduction of cases in the region. Method: To survey the information were consulted the databases LILACS, Scielo and PubMed and were used the keywords "meningitis", "Epidemiology" and "Amapá", searching for articles published in the last 10 years in Portuguese and English languages. Results and Conclusion: 124 cases of meningitis have been reported in Amapá, with the peak in the year 2010 (25.80% of cases). The groups most affected were child between 1-4 years because the immune system is not fully developed, and the adult between 29-40 years, for fall in other risk factors. It was observed a decrease of cases after the peak in the year 2010 (32 cases), mainly due to the free introduction of meningococcal conjugate C vaccine in the 16 municipalities of Amapá, included in Brazil‘s vaccination public calendar in 2010 for children from 2 months to 2 years of age. Additionally occurred professional training, highlighting the course offered by Storage and Distribution Center of Immunobiology (CADI), linked to the State Secretariat of health (SESA).