In October 2014, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensed the first serogroup B meningococcal (MenB) vaccine (MenB-FHbp [Trumenba, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Inc.]) as a 3-dose series. In January 2015, FDA licensed a second MenB vaccine (MenB-4C [Bexsero, Novartis Vaccines]) as a 2-dose series. Both vaccines were approved for use in persons aged 10-25 years. Following outbreaks of serogroup ...

Neisseria meningitidis employs polysaccharides and outer membrane proteins to cope with human serum complement attack. To screen for factors influencing serum resistance, an assay was developed based on a colorimetric serum bactericidal assay. The screening used a genetically modified sequence type (ST)-41/44 clonal complex (cc) strain lacking LPS sialylation, polysaccharide capsule, the factor...

Meningococcal outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) have been extensively investigated and successfully implemented as vaccines. They contain pathogen-associated molecular patterns, including lipopolysaccharide (LPS), capable of triggering innate immunity. However, Neisseria meningitidis contains an extremely potent hexa-acylated LPS, leading to adverse effects when its OMVs are applied as vaccines. T...

Neisseria meningitidis is an obligate human commensal that commonly colonizes the oropharyngeal mucosa. Carriage is age dependent and very common in young adults. The relationships between carriage and invasive disease are not completely understood. In this work, we performed a longitudinal carrier study in adolescents and young adults (173 subjects). Overall, 32 subjects (18.5%) had results th...