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BMJ Open 2022 Jun 21;12(6):e058003. Epub 2022 Jun 21.

CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.

Objectives: Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is an urgent notifiable disease and its early notification is essential to prevent cases. The objective of the study was to assess the sensitivity of two independent surveillance systems and to estimate the incidence of IMD.

Design: We used capture-recapture model based on two independent surveillance systems, the statutory disease reporting (SDR) system and the microbiological reporting system (MRS) of the Public Health Agency of Catalonia, between 2011 and 2015. Read More

Front Immunol 2022 26;13:876776. Epub 2022 May 26.

Department of Pediatric Immunology, Rheumatology, and Infectious Diseases, Emma Children's Hospital, Amsterdam University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

, the causative agent of meningococcal disease (MD), evades complement-mediated clearance upon infection by 'hijacking' the human complement regulator factor H (FH). The FH protein family also comprises the homologous FH-related (FHR) proteins, hypothesized to act as antagonists of FH, and FHR-3 has recently been implicated to play a major role in MD susceptibility. Here, we show that the circulating levels of all FH family proteins, not only FH and FHR-3, are equally decreased during the acute illness. Read More

Euro Surveill 2022 Jun;27(24)

Department of Infectious Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.

In Italy, serogroup C meningococci of the clonal complex cc11 (MenC/cc11) have caused several outbreaks of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) during the past 20 years. Between December 2019 and January 2020, an outbreak of six cases of IMD infected with MenC/cc11 was identified in a limited area in the northern part of Italy. All cases presented a severe clinical picture, and two of them were fatal. Read More

Ugeskr Laeger 2022 Jun;184(23)

Pædiatrisk Afdeling, Sjællands Universitetshospital, Roskilde.

This is a case report of recurrent meningococcal infection in a young woman. She had no positive microbiological findings but was serologically diagnosed with the meningococcal antibody test. Investigation of the complement system showed no function of the terminal pathway. Read More

NEJM Evid 2022 Jun 11;1(5):EVIDoa2100056. Epub 2022 Apr 11.

Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, USA.

Background: Single-dose HPV vaccination, if efficacious, would be tremendously advantageous; simplifying implementation and decreasing costs.

Methods: We performed a randomized, multi-center, double-blind, controlled trial of single-dose nonavalent (HPV 16/18/31/33/45/52/58/6/11) or bivalent (HPV 16/18) HPV vaccination compared to meningococcal vaccination among Kenyan women aged 15-20 years. Enrollment and six monthly cervical swabs and a month three vaginal swab were tested for HPV DNA. Read More

Muscle Nerve 2022 Jun 9. Epub 2022 Jun 9.

Division of Neuromuscular Medicine, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.

Introduction/aims: Safety and outcomes data on eculizumab for generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) in clinical practice remain limited. Outcomes and concomitant medication use may differ in practice compared with clinical trials. We analyzed the clinical and safety outcomes of patients who received eculizumab at our institutions. Read More

Indian J Med Microbiol 2022 May 30. Epub 2022 May 30.

Infectious Diseases Research Center, Health Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran. Electronic address:

Background: Neisseria meningitidis is one of the most important causes of meningitis and pathogens-associated deaths in developing and developed countries. Effective anti-microbial agents are pivotal to treat and control N. meningitidis infections. Read More

Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2022 Jun 2;66(6):e0238321. Epub 2022 Jun 2.

Institute of Antibiotics, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.

Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) due to serogroup Y Neisseria meningitidis (NmY) is rare in China; recently, an invasive NmY isolate, Nm512, was discovered in Shanghai with decreased susceptibility to penicillin (Pen). Here, we investigated the epidemiology of NmY isolates in Shanghai and explored the potential commensal Neisseria lactamica donor of the Pen NmY isolate. A total of 491 N. Read More

Zhonghua Yu Fang Yi Xue Za Zhi 2022 May;56(5):668-672

Division of Expanded Immunization Program, Shandong Center for Disease Control and Prevention/Shandong Academy of Preventive Medicine; Academy of Preventive Medicine, Shandong University/Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Control and Prevention, Jinan 250014, China.

Two cases of epidemic situation of serogroup B meningitis in infants in Shandong Province in 2021 were investigated. Samples of cases and their close contacts were collected for isolation, culture and identification of (). The isolates were subjected to multi-locus sequence typing, outer membrane protein and genotyping and drug sensitivity test. Read More

Zhonghua Yu Fang Yi Xue Za Zhi 2022 May;56(5):652-658

Institute for Communicable Disease Prevention and Control,Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China.

Epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis (meningococcal meningitis) is an acute respiratory infectious disease with high mortality and serious sequelae. Meningococcal vaccine is an effective measure to prevent and control meningococcal meningitis. At present, group B meningococcal meningitis has become the main prevalent serum group in the world, including China. Read More

BMC Public Health 2022 May 31;22(1):1078. Epub 2022 May 31.

GSK, Avenue Fleming, 20 1300, Wavre, Belgium.

Background: Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is uncommon, life-threatening, with many diverse sequelae. The aims were to: 1) comprehensively characterise the sequelae; 2) have a systematic application for sequelae impact in economic evaluation (EE).

Methods: Sequelae categorised as physical/neurological or psychological/behavioural were identified from a systematic review of IMD observational studies (OS) and EEs in high-income countries (published 2001-2020). Read More

Microorganisms 2022 May 5;10(5). Epub 2022 May 5.

Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

COVID-19 control measures have resulted in a decline in invasive bacterial disease caused by (IMD), (IPD), and (Hi-D). These species comprise different serogroups and serotypes that impact transmissibility and virulence. We evaluated type- and pathogen-specific changes in invasive bacterial disease epidemiology in the Netherlands during the first year of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Read More

Microorganisms 2022 Apr 26;10(5). Epub 2022 Apr 26.

Invasive Bacterial Infections, Institut Pasteur, 75724 Paris, France.

Since the appearance of COVID-19 in January 2020, invasive bacterial infections have decreased significantly worldwide. However, alterations in age and sex distributions, clinical forms, phenotypes, and genotypes of isolates have not been analyzed. Our goal is to present and discuss these data considering the current COVID-19 pandemic situation. Read More

PLoS One 2022 26;17(5):e0268536. Epub 2022 May 26.

Centre Hospitalier Intercommunal, Clinical Research Center, Créteil, France.

Introduction: Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is still an important cause of mortality in children and survivors can have significant long-term disabling sequelae. There are few prospective studies looking at the long term neuropsychological and developmental consequences of IMD in surviving children, and the rate of sequelae may be underestimated. The SEINE study aims to have a more reliable estimate of the real rate of sequelae by assessing the long-term physical, neuropsychological, learning disorders and sensory sequelae of IMD in children and adolescents and by assessing the post-traumatic stress in parents. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2022 05 25;16(5):e0010414. Epub 2022 May 25.

School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.

Community-acquired bacterial bloodstream infections are caused by diverse pathogens with changing antimicrobial-resistance patterns. In low-middle income countries in Southeast Asia, where dengue fever is endemic and a leading cause of fever, limited information is available about bacterial bloodstream infections due to challenges of implementing a blood culture service. This study describes bacterial bloodstream pathogens and antimicrobial-resistance patterns in Metro Manila, the Philippines. Read More

Vaccine 2022 Jun 21;40(28):3835-3842. Epub 2022 May 21.

Lydia Becker Institute of Immunology and Inflammation, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK. Electronic address:

Meningococcal meningitis is a rare but serious condition affecting mainly children and young adults. Outer membrane vesicles (OMV) from Neisseria meningitidis have been used successfully as vaccines against the disease, although they only provide protection against a limited number of the many existing variants. There have been many attempts to identify suitable protein antigens for use in defined vaccines that provide broad protection against the disease, such as that leading to the development of the four component 4CMenB vaccine. Read More

J Clin Microbiol 2022 Jun 23;60(6):e0015222. Epub 2022 May 23.

Division of Medical Microbiology, BC Children's Hospital and BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Vaccine 2022 Jun 14;40(26):3647-3654. Epub 2022 May 14.

Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, School of Population and Global Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Objectives: To understand the global landscape of prevention and control efforts targeting serogroup B meningococcal (MenB) disease and to identify the key challenges and gaps yet to be addressed.

Methods: We conducted a comprehensive review of policies and practices for the use of protein-based MenB vaccines (Bexsero® [GlaxoSmithKline] and Trumenba® [Pfizer]) in all countries (n = 58) where either or both vaccine is authorized for use. We searched the literature (PubMed) and websites of health ministries and other relevant agencies to identify policy documents and plans and collect information about implementation timelines, target groups, vaccines being used, recommended schedules, and coverage data. Read More

Enferm Infecc Microbiol Clin (Engl Ed) 2022 May;40(5):266-272

Unit of Infectious Diseases, Hospital Universitario "12 de Octubre", Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Hospital "12 de Octubre" (imas12), Madrid, Spain; School of Medicine, Universidad Complutense. Madrid, Spain.

Over the past decades, the advent of targeted and biological therapies has revolutionized the management of cancer and autoimmune, hematological and inflammatory conditions. Although a large amount of information is now available on the risk of opportunistic infections associated with some of these agents, the evidence regarding the susceptibility to bacterial infections is more limited. Biological agents have been shown to entail a variable risk of bacterial infections in pivotal randomized clinical trials and post-marketing studies. Read More

Lancet Microbe 2021 09 9;2(9):e421-e422. Epub 2021 Jul 9.

Department of Microbiology, Tumour, and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Clinical Microbiology, BioClinicum, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden; Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Electronic address:

J Pediatr 2022 05;244:250-254

Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022 22;12:862935. Epub 2022 Apr 22.

Marshall Centre for Infectious Diseases Research and Training, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.

is a gram-negative diplococcus and a transient commensal of the human nasopharynx. It shares and competes for this niche with a number of other species including and . Unlike these other members of the genus, may become invasive, crossing the epithelium of the nasopharynx and entering the bloodstream, where it rapidly proliferates causing a syndrome known as Invasive Meningococcal Disease (IMD). Read More

PLoS One 2022 29;17(4):e0267786. Epub 2022 Apr 29.

Pfizer France, Paris, France.

Objective: Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is life-threatening and associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. The study aimed to examine the clinical characteristics and hospital-based healthcare resource use and related costs following IMD diagnosis in France.

Methods: Patients admitted to hospitals due to IMD between 2014 and 2016 were selected from the French hospital discharge database (PMSI). Read More

JAMA Netw Open 2022 04 1;5(4):e228573. Epub 2022 Apr 1.

Global Value, Evidence and Outcomes, Oncology, GSK, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Importance: In the United States, individuals with HIV infection have been recommended to receive a 2-dose series of the meningococcal A, C, W, Y (MenACWY) vaccine since 2016 owing to their increased risk of meningococcal disease.

Objective: To examine uptake and time to receipt of the MenACWY vaccine among people with a new diagnosis of HIV.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study used health insurance data from the US Optum Research Database from January 1, 2016, through March 31, 2018, to retrospectively identify 1208 individuals aged 2 years or older with 1 or more inpatient claim or 2 or more outpatient claims evidencing a new diagnosis of HIV infection and with continuous insurance enrollment for 12 or more months before and 6 or more months after diagnosis. Read More

Adv Ther 2022 06 28;39(6):3031-3041. Epub 2022 Apr 28.

Institute Pasteur, 25-28 Rue du Dr Roux, 75015, Paris, France.

Introduction: COMBAT is a prospective, multicentre cohort study that enrolled consecutive adults with community-acquired bacterial meningitis (CABM) in 69 participating centres in France between February 2013 and July 2015 and followed them for 1 year.

Methods: Patients aged at least 18 years old, hospitalised with CABM were followed during their hospitalisation and then contacted by phone 12 months after enrolment. Here we present the prevalence of sequelae at 12 months in a subgroup of patients with meningococcal meningitis. Read More

Hum Vaccin Immunother 2022 Nov 28;18(5):1979846. Epub 2022 Apr 28.

York Biologics Consulting LLC, Wayne, PA, USA.

This review considers the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and epidemiology of invasive meningococcal disease in infants, to examine and critique meningococcal disease prevention in this population through vaccination. High rates of meningococcal disease and poor outcomes, particularly for very young infants, highlight the importance of meningococcal vaccination in early infancy. Although effective and safe meningococcal vaccines are available for use from 6 weeks of age, they are not recommended globally. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2022 Aug 23;28(8):1180-1181. Epub 2022 Apr 23.

The University of Tokyo Hospital, Department of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan.

Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) can occur in travelers returning from mass-gathering events or endemic regions. We present a 60-year-old Argentine traveler to Tokyo who developed IMD by Neisseria meningitidis Serogroup W135 during her stay in Japan. N. Read More

Vaccine 2022 May 23;40(24):3366-3371. Epub 2022 Apr 23.

Technical R&D, GSK, Via Fiorentina 1, Siena 53100, Italy. Electronic address:

GSK is currently working to improve the commercial presentation of the licensed quadrivalent conjugate vaccine (Menveo) for use against meningococcal serogroup A, C, W, Y (MenACWY) infections. Menveo consists of a primary, lyophilized vial, containing the serogroup A antigen that is reconstituted with the content of a second, liquid, vial that contains the serogroup C, W, Y antigens, to give the final liquid MenACWY product. Since the MenA structure is prone to hydrolytic degradation in liquid formulations, we used mathematical models to rationally design a clinical Phase 2 development plan and provide end of shelf-life (EoSL) and release specification setting for the MenACWY liquid product. Read More

Commun Dis Intell (2018) 2022 04 26;46. Epub 2022 Apr 26.

The World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for STI and AMR and Neisseria Reference Laboratory. NSW Health Pathology, Microbiology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Australia.

Expert Rev Vaccines 2022 Jun;21(6):753-769

Vaccine Medical Development, Scientific and Clinical Affairs, Pfizer Inc, Collegeville, PA, USA.

Introduction: The two currently licensed surface protein non-capsular meningococcal serogroup B (MenB) vaccines both have the purpose of providing broad coverage against diverse MenB strains. However, the different antigen compositions and approaches used to assess breadth of coverage currently make direct comparisons complex.

Areas Covered: In the second of two companion papers, we comprehensively review the serology and factors influencing breadth of coverage assessments for two currently licensed MenB vaccines. Read More