In the era after the introduction of the meningococcal serogroup C conjugate vaccine, from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2010, serogroup B meningococci were the major cause of invasive meningococcal disease in the province of Québec, Canada, being responsible for 72% of all meningococcal disease cases. Of the 334 invasive serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis strains analyzed, 53.9% belonged to th...

Invasive meningococcal infections show a broad clinical picture in sepsis and meningitis. The clinical reports of the disease do not include diarrhea as an initial clinical presentation, since it is only seldom reported. Here is a description of two cases of meningococcal infection with diarrhea as the main initial clinical manifestation and posterior emergence of the classical signs and symptoms.

Neisseria meningitidis is an important cause of bacterial meningitis, particularly in infants over three months old and in teenagers. The relative importance of meningococcal disease over invasive Haemophilus influenzae disease has increased following the introduction ofHib capsular vaccines in 1990. In about one fifth of infections with Neisseria meningitidis the organism causes a predominantl...

INTRODUCTION Invasive meningococcal disease can be difficult to detect early in its course when patients may appear well and the severity of their illness is obscured by non-specific complaints. CASE PRESENTATION We report five cases of meningococcal sepsis in adult patients who presented to an emergency department early in the course of their disease, but whose severity of illness was not re...

The incidence of invasive meningococcal disease in adolescents and young adults of high school and college age has recently increased in the United States. Recent studies indicate that certain groups of college students are at increased risk. This has led to the recent Advisory Committee Immunization Practices recommendation that college freshman dormitory residents be provided information abou...

IMPORTANCE AND OBJECTIVE Prior influenza infection is a risk factor for invasive meningococcal disease. Quantifying the fraction of meningococcal disease attributable to influenza could improve understanding of viral-bacterial interaction and indicate additional health benefits to influenza immunization. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS A time series analysis of the association of influenza a...

Understanding why carriers of meningococci occasionally develop invasive disease is a major challenge. Individual strains of meningococci are extremely variable and undergo dynamic changes in DNA content and organization. This heterogeneity of meningococcal populations might enhance the fitness of this human-restricted bacterium. The recent discovery of a meningococcal bacteriophage and its ass...