Scanning electron micrograph of a single N. meningitidis cell (colorized in blue) with its adhesive pili (colorized in yellow). The scale bar corresponds to 1 µm.
Scientific classification
Domain:
Bacteria
Phylum:
Pseudomonadota
Class:
Betaproteobacteria
Order:
Neisseriales
Family:
Neisseriaceae
Genus:
Neisseria
Species:
N. meningitidis
Binomial name
Neisseria meningitidis
Albrecht & Ghon 1901
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Neisseria meningitidis.
Neisseria meningitidis, often referred to as the meningococcus, is a Gram-negative bacterium that can cause meningitis and other forms of meningococcal disease such as meningococcemia, a life-threatening sepsis. The bacterium is referred to as a coccus because it is round, and more specifically a diplococcus because of its tendency to form pairs.
About 10% of adults are carriers of the bacteria in their nasopharynx.[1] As an exclusively human pathogen, it causes developmental impairment and death in about 10% of cases. It causes the only form of bacterial meningitis known to occur epidemically, mainly in Africa and Asia. It occurs worldwide in both epidemic and endemic form.[2]
N. meningitidis is spread through saliva and respiratory secretions during coughing, sneezing, kissing, chewing on toys and through sharing a source of fresh water. It has also been reported to be transmitted through oral sex and cause urethritis in men.[3] It infects its host cells by sticking to them with long thin extensions called pili and the surface-exposed proteins Opa and Opc and has several virulence factors.
^Hitchcock PJ, Robinson Jr EN, McGee ZA, Koomey JM (1993). "Neisseriae: Gonococcus and Meningococcus". In Schaechter M, Medoff G, Eisenstein BI (eds.). Mechanisms of Microbial Disease (2nd ed.). Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins. p. 231. ISBN 9780683076066.
^"Meningococcal Disease in Other Countries". National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Meningococcal Disease. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 31 May 2019. Archived from the original on 2020-10-30.
^Bazan JA, Peterson AS, Kirkcaldy RD, Briere EC, Maierhofer C, Turner AN, et al. (June 2016). "Notes from the Field: Increase in Neisseria meningitidis-Associated Urethritis Among Men at Two Sentinel Clinics - Columbus, Ohio, and Oakland County, Michigan, 2015". MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 65 (21). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: 550–552. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6521a5. PMC 5390329. PMID 27254649.
and 24 Related for: Neisseria meningitidis information
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treatments for gonorrhea available.[citation needed] Neisseriameningitidis Euzéby JP, Parte AC. "Genus Neisseria". List of Prokaryotic Names with Standing in...
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Meningococcal vaccine refers to any vaccine used to prevent infection by Neisseriameningitidis. Different versions are effective against some or all of the following...
is nonessential in at least some Gram-negative bacteria, such as Neisseriameningitidis, Moraxella catarrhalis, and Acinetobacter baumannii. It has also...
meningism or pseudomeningitis. Meningitis caused by the bacterium Neisseriameningitidis (known as "meningococcal meningitis") can be differentiated from...
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penicillin-resistant strains of Neisseriameningitidis. The increasing selective pressure from penicillin treatment has led to N. meningitidis' uptake of an altered...
fastidious respiratory bacteria, such as Haemophilus influenzae and Neisseriameningitidis. In addition, some of these bacteria, most notably H. influenzae...
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caused by meningococci or septicaemia. In particular, meningococcus (Neisseriameningitidis), a Gram-negative diplococcus organism, releases endotoxin when...
to Ethiopia, and the primary cause of meningitis in the belt is Neisseriameningitidis. The belt was first proposed by Léon Lapeyssonnie of the World Health...
of age. Invasive meningococcal disease, caused by the bacterium Neisseriameningitidis, can lead to serious conditions such as meningitis (inflammation...
transmitted from commensal neisseriae such as Neisseria lactamica to disease causing Neisseriameningitidis by the process of genetic transformation. Hollis...
not, be aware of the microbe being handled, it is either Neisseriameningitidis or Neisseria gonorrhoeae, both of which are pathogenic. Finally, perform...
hypersensitivity in the 1920s. This reaction was experimented using Neisseriameningitidis endotoxin. A related observation was made by Giuseppe Sanarelli...
of Haemophilus influenzae type B, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseriameningitidis A and C meningitis in infants and children". Journal of Clinical...
This enzyme is secreted by Gram-negative bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Neisseriameningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae, and Gram-positive Streptococcus...
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