Is Neisseria meningitidis beneficial?

Is Neisseria meningitidis beneficial?

The Neisseria meningitidis Capsule Is Important for Intracellular Survival in Human Cells.

What is unique about Neisseria meningitidis?

As an exclusively human pathogen, it is the main cause of bacterial meningitis in children and young adults, causing 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.

Which sample is useful in Neisseria meningitidis infection?

PCR is a rapid, sensitive test that may be used to confirm a diagnosis of meningococcal disease by using peripheral blood samples. Introduction of this test into clinical laboratories may in some cases obviate the need for lumbar puncture to be performed on patients with suspected meningococcal disease.

How does Neisseria meningitidis treatment work?

Doctors treat meningococcal disease with a number of antibiotics. It is important that treatment start as soon as possible. If a doctor suspects meningococcal disease, they will give the patient antibiotics right away. Antibiotics help reduce the risk of dying.

What does Neisseria meningitidis do to the body?

Meningococcal meningitis is a rare but serious bacterial infection. It causes the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord to become inflamed. Each year, approximately 1,000 people in the U.S. get meningococcal disease, which includes meningitis and septicemia (blood infection).

Is Neisseria meningitidis aerobic or anaerobic?

The human pathogen Neisseria meningitidis is the major causative agent of bacterial meningitis. The organism is usually treated as a strict aerobe and is cultured under fully aerobic conditions in the laboratory.

Is Neisseria meningitidis intracellular or extracellular?

To cause meningitis the extracellular pathogen Neisseria meningitidis has to traverse the blood-cerebrospinal fluid (B-CSF) barrier. Postulating a transcellular passage, meningococci (MC) have been shown to adhere to and enter B-CSF barrier forming human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC).

What is used to treat meningococcal meningitis?

Penicillin is the drug of choice for the treatment of meningococcal meningitis and septicemia. Chemoprophylactic antimicrobials most commonly used to eradicate meningococci include rifampin, quinolones (eg, ciprofloxacin), ceftriaxone. Also included in this class are minocycline and spiramycin.

How does Neisseria meningitidis enter the blood?

meningitidis induces at the site of bacterial cell interaction the formation of a specific membrane domain enriched in structural proteins and membrane receptors designated the “cortical plaque.”83 This structure dramatically modifies the molecular equilibrium of the host cell, and leads to the opening of the blood- …

Does Neisseria meningitidis reduce nitrate?

The human pathogen Neisseria meningitidis is the major causative agent of bacterial meningitis. The organism is usually treated as a strict aerobe and is cultured under fully aerobic conditions in the laboratory. During periods of NO accumulation both nitrite and NO reduction are observed aerobically, indicating N.

Does Neisseria meningitidis form endospores?

Neisseria meningitidis is a parasitic, aerobic, Gram-negative, non endospore forming, nonmotile (although piliated) , coccal bacterium that is responsible for causing meningitis, inflammation of the meninges layer covering the brain.