Neisseria meningitidis Subtype Nomenclature

Description and Nomenclature of Neisseria meningitidis Capsule Locus

Pathogenic Neisseria meningitidis isolates contain a polysaccharide capsule that is the main virulence determinant for this bacterium. Thirteen capsular polysaccharides have been described, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy has enabled determination of the structure of capsular polysaccharides responsible for serogroup specificity. Molecular mechanisms involved in N. meningitidis caps...

Proposed standardization of Neisseria meningitidis PorA variable-region typing nomenclature.

Neisseria meningitidis isolates are conventionally classified by serosubtyping, which characterizes the reactivities of the PorA outer membrane protein variable-region (VR) epitopes with monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). A newer method (PorA VR typing) uses predicted amino acid sequences derived from DNA sequence analysis. The resulting classification schemes are not standardized, offering conflict...

Neisseria meningitidis W135, Turkey

We describe the first case of Neisseria meningitidis W135 meningitis in Turkey. The strain was genotypically unrelated to the clone (W)ET-37, isolated from Hajj pilgrims in 2000.

Neisseria meningitidis serotype W135.

Rifampin-resistant Neisseria meningitidis

To The Editor: Immediate management of meningococcal disease requires antimicrobial drug treatment of patients with β-lactams and chemo-prophylaxis of contact persons with rifampin. High-level resistance to rifampin (MIC >32 mg/L) in Neisseria meningitidis is provoked by mutations (most frequently at the residue His 552) in the rpoB gene encoding the β subunit of RNA poly-merase (1,2). Resistan...