[Results of experiments on infecting rabbits with L-forms of meningococcus and the initial bacterial culture].
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Animals↗
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Results for “MENINGOCOCCUS INFECTIONS”
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[Public health problems posed by the occurrence of Haemophilus meningitis in limited communities and especially its chemophophylaxis].
In Val-de-Marne District there is a permanent medical network to check up all cases of infectious meningitis. H. influenzae meningitis are increasing and represent 25% of all purulent meningitis (mainly infants of less than 6 years old) diagnosed in this area, second only to the meningococcus. English authors find Haemophilus influenzae to be as contagious as the meningococcus. Public Health physicians have to know these informations in order to prevent infection in communities; systematic throat culture with antibiograms, regular medical check-up, disinfection, exclusion from school and the choice of prophylactic anti-biotherapy are discussed. Many drugs have been proposed ampicillin, rifampicin, spiramycin, erythromycin, pristinamycin, tetracyclin. None of them managed to get a unanimous approval. The probably temporary solution is to follow the same guidelines than for the meningococcus infections and contaminations. They are described in details in the n degrees 8 Ministerial Memorandum dated January 28, 1980. About chimioprophylaxy, the physicians have to judge any single case as a whole. First ENT infections in those communities have to be totally treated.
Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
[Epidemiological and laboratory criteria in the assessment of meningococcus carrier state].
A study was made of the duration of meningococcus carrier state, immunological indices and group-specific properties of meningococci isolated from them. The periods of meningococcus discharge were studied in 738 persons. Three categories of the carrier state were revealed: a single discharge (67% of the carriers), of average duration (up to 4 weeks), and prolonged. Greater indices of group-specific antibodies (in the passive hemagglutination test) were revealed in the carriers with prolonged presence of meningococci in the nasopharynx. Dynamics of immunological indices and periods of the carrier state formation in the foci of infection permitted to characterize the prolonged carrier state as a latent form of meningococcus infection. A study of the group-specific properties in 1845 strains and comparison of the group-specific pattern of the circulating strains with the epidemic situation indicated that meningococci of group A were not only epidemic, but also more virulent.
Adolescent↗
[Bacterial meningiditis in adult patients in Central African hospitals].
Bacterial meningitidis of the adult remain frequent and serious affections in spite of therapeutic progress. The authors report results from a retrospective study of 502 cases over 5 years. Hospital prevalence was 12.1%. These infections occur during the dry season between November and April in 75% of the cases. An important peak was observed in March, that is to say 24.5%. Patients' average age was 34.7 years old with extremes ranging from 15 to 80. The isolated micro-organisms were: the pneumococcus (45.2%), the meningococcus (14.5%), salmonella (1.6%) and the Haemophilus influenzae (1.2%). Meningitidis decapitated by a preliminary antibiotherapy represented 37,5%. Seroprevalence of the HIV infection during this work was 55.1%. Patients suffering from pneumococcus meningitis were contaminated by the HIV in 51.7% of the cases. Those suffering from meningococcus infection were infected with HIV in 52.9% of the cases. Those presenting meningitidis to Haemophilus influenzae and salmonellas had contracted the HIV respectively in 83% and 87.5% of the cases. The average duration of hospitalization was 14.2% days. The average mortality rate was 31.7% for the pneumococcus, 30. 1% for the meningococcus one. 53.4% of the patients recovered.
Adolescent↗
[The heterogeneity of formed collectives in susceptibility to meningococcal adhesion].
4 patients with meningococcal infection and 141 meningococcal carriers were examined. The authors study heterogeneity of human population concerning susceptibility or stability of erythrocytes to adhesive influence of meningococci. In 17.4% of cases erythrocytes were highly susceptible to adhesion of meningococci, in 20.4% were stable to this influence, in 62.2% were moderately susceptible. The highest susceptibility of erythrocytes (out of statistics) was marked at the patients of Kirghiz and Tadjik nationalities. These indexes have the same statistic frequency for the persons with different blood groups (system ABO), independently of their rural or urban place of residence. The high susceptibility of erythrocytes (0.25 GAE or less) to adhesion of meningococci is three times more frequent among the persons with meningococcal infection and carriers of meningococcus. This connection may be regarded as a predisposition of the organism for the infection. Thus, the susceptibility of erythrocytes to adhesion of meningococci gives the possibility to determine the persons who need an urgent immunization at the forming collectives.
Adolescent↗
For discussion: live attenuated vaccines for group B meningococcus.
Current attempts at preventing infections caused by group B Neisseria meningitidis are largely directed on generating immune responses to outer membrane proteins or the lipopolysaccharide of this organism. We suggest an alternative approach: the use of a live, attenuated strain of Neisseria meningitidis which could be delivered mucosally to elicit both local and systemic immune responses.
Bacterial Vaccines↗
The status of vaccines to meningococcal and gonococcal disease.
Human beings are subject to infection by two species of Neisseria the meningococcus and the gonococcus. Vaccines effective against meningococcal infection are available and have been widely employed. Their effectiveness rests on the ability to induce antibodies which prevent invasion of the blood stream, but they have only minor effect on the mucosal infection in the nasopharynx, namely the carrier state. With the gonococcus it is the mucosal infection of the genitourinary tract which is, in fact, the disease, and hence a successful gonococcal vaccine must be able to prevent this infection as well as its local extension to the adnexa. The surface antigens of the meningococcus and gonococcus have been found to be remarkably homologous, and their biological properties are becoming clearer. The prospects for a gonorrhoea vaccine will be discussed.
Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins↗
A human monoclonal macroglobulin with specificity for alpha(2----8)-linked poly-N-acetyl neuraminic acid, the capsular polysaccharide of group B meningococci and Escherichia coli K1, which crossreacts with polynucleotides and with denatured DNA.
We have described an IgM antibody from a patient with macroglobulinemia specifically reacting with poly-alpha(2----8)N-acetyl neuraminic acid (NeuNAc) the capsular polysaccharide of two important human pathogens, group B meningococcus and E. coli K1. This antibody has a narrowly defined specificity in its interactions with polysaccharides, being unable to bind poly-alpha(2----9)NeuNAc or alternating poly-alpha(2----8)alpha(2----9)NeuNAc. However, it shows interesting crossreactivity with seemingly unrelated polynucleotides and denatured DNA, supporting the hypothesis that charged groups with a given spacing may determine the specificity of antigen-antibody interactions on otherwise dissimilar molecular structures. Despite the crossreactivity with denatured DNA and polynucleotides, the antibody does not appear to have adverse effects in the patient. The antibody protects newborn rats against E. coli K1 infection, as well as the standard horse antiserum H46, and one would expect it to prove useful in humans as an adjunct to antibiotic therapy in infections with group B meningococcus and E. coli K1. We have attempted to clone the antibody-producing cells from peripheral blood, and have shown that the relevant cells are present and can be cultured.
Aged↗
Group B meningococcal meningitis in India.
The first case of infection with Group B meningococcus in India is reported. The patient was a 4-month-old boy who presented with meningitis and died within 6 h of admission. Gram stain of CSF showed meningococci and latex particle agglutination test on CSF was strongly positive for Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B. The CSF was also positive for meningococcus by polymerase chain reaction using primers NM1 and NM6, which amplify a 650 bp region of the dihydropteroate synthase (dhps) gene of N. meningitidis.
Fatal Outcome↗
[Dynamics of the level of antibodies to protein antigens of the Meningococcus serogroup A in the serum of patients with meningococcal infection].
Two characteristics were determined in the sera of patients by means of radioimmunoassay (RIA) techniques: the RIA titer and the characteristic indicating the presence of highly avid antibodies in the serum. This investigation revealed that in the sera of patients with meningococcal infection of moderate severity the values of the RIA titer of IgM, IgG and IgA, as well as the values indicating the levels of highly avid IgM, IgG and IgA, increased as the infection progressed. In patients with the severe form of meningococcal infection the values of the RIA titer of IgA and IgA increased, while the RIA titer of IgG remained practically unchanged. No dynamic changes in the characteristics indicating the presence of highly avid antibodies in the serum were observed.
Antibodies, Bacterial↗
[Purulent meningitis: a long-standing problem].
Bacterial meningitis is a problem for Public Health that has to be reviewed periodically. Most of the infections are due to Meningococcus, Haemophilus influenzae or Streptococcus pneumoniae. Seventy per cent of the cases are seen in children less than 5 years old; mortality ranges between 5% to 20% of the patients. Progress has been made with vaccination for Meningococcus types A and C and for H influenzae type B. In Chile, meningococcal meningitis is endemic, with epidemic bouts in the north part of the country. Currently, studies are in progress in Santiago with vaccination against H influenzae type B, in the hope that it can be extended to the rest of the country.
Child, Preschool↗
Perspectives on occult bacteremia in children.
Bacteremia in young children seen in the outpatient clinic is a reasonably frequent occurrence with occasionally serious sequelae; most patients, however, do quite well. The problem is more perplexing in infants and young children with high fever and no apparent focus of infection. Laboratory tests and clinical observations help to determine which children are at low risk of occult bacteremia and need not have blood cultured; testing and assessment are much less predictive of the child who does have occult bacteremia. Currently, it is unclear whether treating all patients at risk is warranted. In any case, very close follow-up of the patient who is sent home from the outpatient department with high fever is desirable. The prevalence of serious infections caused by pneumococcus, Hib, and meningococcus warrants continued research on the development of vaccines that effectively prevent these infections.
Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
[Cavitated lung pneumonia due to meningococcus].
Neisseria meningitidis is a common germ of the respiratory pathways which seldom produces pulmonary infection. Some established cases of pneumonia by meningococcus and, exceptionally, of complications like the empyema, have been described. However, just one case of cavitated pneumonia by N. meningitidis has been described in the medical literature. We present a case of pneumonia with cavitation produced by N. meningitidis, which was diagnosed through fibrobronchoscopy with transbronchial biopsy. This observation is of very high clinical interest, because N. meningitidis is a pathogenic agent which is not taken into account for the differential diagnosis of cavitated pneumonias.
Humans↗
Retinal hemorrhages in meningococcal septicemia.
PURPOSE: Meningococcal septicemia is associated with coagulopathy and hemorrhagic tendency. We carried out this study to determine the incidence of retinal hemorrhages in meningococcal septicemia. METHODS: This was a prospective study involving all children admitted to the Sheffield Children's Hospital, Sheffield, England, with a diagnosis of meningococcal septicemia. Confirmation of meningococcal infection was by blood culture or DNA analysis using polymerase chain reaction. The children underwent ocular examination including dilated fundus examination by direct and indirect ophthalmoscopy. Details of their coagulation status were also obtained. RESULTS: Twelve children (mean age, 4.5 years) with a confirmed diagnosis of meningococcal septicemia were included. All children had coagulopathy. Retinal hemorrhages were found in 5 children (42%). The disease was fatal in 3 children. Group C meningococcus was responsible for the infection in all those with retinal hemorrhages and those with fatal outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Retinal hemorrhage is a common feature in meningococcal septicemia. Ophthalmic evaluation should be part of the assessment of children with meningococcal septicemia. Future studies on meningococcal disease should include retinal hemorrhage as another parameter in the assessment. This should help us to understand the role of retinal hemorrhage in the prognosis of this serious disease.
Bacteremia↗
INVESTIGATIONS OF MENINGOCOCCAL INFECTION. III. THE BACTERICIDAL ACTION OF NORMAL AND IMMUNE SERA FOR THE MENINGOCOCCUS.
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Journal Article↗
Selective impairment of B cell function by Neisseria meningitidis.
Spleen cells from CBA/J mice infected with Neisseria meningitidis displayed depressed in vitro plaque-forming cell (PFC) responses to T-dependent (sheep red blood cell; SRBC) and T-independent (TNP-LPS, TNP-Ficoll) antigens. The inhibition was observed over a wide range of antigen concentrations. The decreased responsiveness of splenocytes from infected mice was due to a selective impairment of B-cell function since helper-T-cell activity was intact in infected mice as shown by the ability of T-enriched lymphocytes to cooperate with normal B-enriched lymphocytes in the generation of an anti-SRBC response, accessory macrophage function was preserved since adherent spleen cells from bacteria-injected mice were shown to produce normal or increased levels of IL-1 and were able to cooperate with normal non-adherent spleen cells in the generation of PFC against SRBC. Addition of peritoneal cells from normal animals or extraneous IL-1 both failed to restore normal PFC responses in cultures of splenocytes from infected mice. Finally, B-enriched lymphocytes from infected mice produced poor anti-SRBC responses when cultured with either Con A supernatant or T-enriched lymphocytes from normal or infected mice. Cell-mixing experiments failed to detect the presence of suppressor cells in cultures of unfractionated spleen cells or B-enriched lymphocytes from infected mice. Therefore, the immunological unresponsiveness associated with a Neisseria meningitidis infection was attributed to a meningococcus-induced defect(s) in B-cell function. In vivo polyclonal B-cell activation leading to clonal exhaustion did not play a major role in the depression of humoral responses since meningococcal infection induced little or no polyclonal Ig secretion.
Animals↗
Latex agglutination for bacterial antigens and meningococcus PCR: two useful tools in legal sudden deaths.
Bacterial infections are considered to be a major cause of sudden deaths. The recognition of infections caused by Neisseria meningitidis is an essential duty of medicolegal offices due to the risk of secondary cases. Since other microorganisms, such as Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae, are also involved in infectious sudden deaths, the identification of the pathogen responsible for death is essential in order to establish a positive diagnosis while also preventing secondary meningococcal cases. However, because of the unreliability of culture methods used for autopsy specimens and the fragile nature of the microorganisms, other techniques were used. In this study, the detection of specific antigens of N. meningitidis (serogroups A, B, C, Y and W135), H. influenzae type b, S. pneumoniae and Group B Streptococcus was undertaken in 40 samples from sudden death cases in legal procedures with a latex agglutination test. In addition, a meningococcus polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay (ctrA, crgA and siaD genes) was also used as a corroboration method for positive N. meningitidis agglutinations. Eleven cases of sudden death were confirmed to be due to meningococcus while one case was confirmed to have been caused by H. influenzae type b fulminant epiglottitis. Rapid laboratory diagnosis of meningococcal infection allowed contacts management and notification to the health authorities. From the point of view of the authors, forensic diagnosis of unascertained deaths should include latex agglutination and meningococcus PCR when a fulminant infection by N. meningitidis or H. influenzae is suspected as well as in deaths where the cause is unclear.
Adolescent↗
[Experience of 5 campaigns of detection of nasopharyngeal carriers of Meningococcus (1970-71 to 1974-75) in relation to the last outbreak of meningococcal infections, taking place in the Hospital Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas (Hospital del Rey)].
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Carrier State↗