Systemic meningococcal infection (meningococcal meningitis or meningococcemia) is a rare disease in France that primarily affects children; its severity lies in the fact that it is fatal in 10% of cases. All cases of systemic meningococcal infection must be immediately reported to the DDASS by the clinician to enable the implementation of chemoprophylaxis measures in the community, and the strain must be systematically sent to the National Reference Center for Meningococci (CNRM) for further characterization. Secondly, systemic meningococcal infection must be subject to mandatory reporting. The purpose of this reporting is to track the epidemiological trends of the disease, given the wide variability in its incidence over time in France and among different European countries, largely due to the diversity of circulating strains. This article presents data from 1998 and 1999, which confirm the moderate increase in incidence observed since 1996, in addition to an improvement in the reporting rate for the two serogroups commonly isolated in France. The main characteristics of the cases, in terms of case fatality or age distribution, appear comparable to those of previous years.