Neisseria Meningitidis
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Neisseria Meningitidis Pathogen
Neisseria meningitidis is a parasitic bacterium, also referred to as meningococcus, which can trigger meningitis in humans or inflammation of the membrane of meninges that protects the human brain. Neisseria meningitidis can also result in other severe conditions such as sepsis, disseminated intravascular coagulation and Waterhouse-Friderichsen Syndrome (Mc Namara et al. 2020). The bacterium is known as a gram-negative diplococcus. It grows on Thayer-martin agar; it is non-motile, non-spore-forming, oxidase-positive and obligate aerobes which means that they need oxygen to grow. Finally, they are catalase+ and oxidase+ because they produce enzymes. Neisseria meningitidis has several virulence factors that help attack and destroy host cells and evade the immune system. The virulence factors consist of the capsule, pili and proteins.
- menengitidis is the only bacteria known to cause meningitis epidemically. Most likely, it affects people living in close quarters or among larger communities that share the same source of freshwater. In 1887, Weichselbaum first discovered Neisseria meningitidis by studying the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of a patient afflicted with meningitis. Neisseria meningitidis at first produces all side effects like headache, fever and neck stiffness. Symptoms of meningococcemia mainly include petechial rash, which are small red rashes that often appear in the trunk in lower extremities. With sepsis, there may be signs of shock like tachycardia and hypotension.
In conclusion, diagnosis requires blood cultures to look for N. meningitidis in the blood as well as the lumbar puncture for CSF analysis and culture. Treatment requires the first administration of ceftriaxone following the results in the antibiogram. Treatment can be switched to penicillin G. Additionally, prophylactics such as ceftriaxone, rifampin and ciprofloxacin should be given to close contacts of the affected individual. Finally, concerning the prevention of N. menengitidis, it is recommended that those who are at risk of the infection should get vaccinated and these include babies, children, teens, adults with spleen issues and those who travel to places where N. meningitidis is endemic. Currently, there are two types of vaccines against N. meningitidis; one is the meningococcal conjugate vaccine, typically given to children and teens. The other type of vaccine is a recombinant meningococcal vaccine, and it’s typically given to adults.
References
McNamara, L. A., Potts, C., Blain, A. E., Retchless, A. C., Reese, N., Swint, S., … & Wang, X. (2020). Detection of Ciprofloxacin-Resistant, β-Lactamase–Producing Neisseria meningitidis Serogroup Y Isolates—the United States, 2019–2020. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 69(24), 735.