Emergence of W South American sublineage strain variant in Brazil: disease and carriage.

Invasive meningococcal disease is a major health problem, impacting morbidity and mortality worldwide. Exploratory genomics has revealed insights into adaptation, transmissibility and virulence to elucidate endemic, outbreaks or epidemics caused by serogroup W (MenW) strains. Limited information on the genomics of serogroup W ST11/cc11 is available from emerging countries, especially in contemporary isolates.

Prevalence, Risk Factors and Molecular Characteristics of Meningococcal Carriage Among Brazilian Adolescents.

Background: In 2010, introduction of the meningococcal C conjugate vaccine in Brazil for children <2 years provided an immediate reduction in the incidence rates of disease among the age groups targeted for the vaccine, but no early impact was observed in unvaccinated age groups. Knowledge about meningococcal carriage is crucial for improving our understanding of the disease epidemiology and for designing effective vaccination programs. Taking in account the very limited published data currently available describing meningococcal carriage in Brazil, we performed a study to evaluate the prevalence of Neisseria meningitidis carriage among adolescent students.

Evolution of bacterial meningitis diagnosis in São Paulo State-Brazil and future challenges.

Bacterial meningitis (BM) is a severe disease and still represents a serious public health problem with high rates of morbidity and mortality. The most common cases of BM around the world, mainly in Brazil, have been caused by Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Haemophilus influenzae type b. Bacterial culture is the gold-standard technique for BM confirmation, but approximately 50% of suspected cases are not culture-confirmed, due to problems related to improper transportation and seeding or previous antibiotic treatment.

Fast test for assessing the susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to isoniazid and rifampin by real-time PCR.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB), a leading cause of death from infectious disease worldwide. Rapid diagnosis of resistant strains is important for the control of TB. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays may detect all of the mutations that occur in the M.

Compartmentalization of interleukin-6 response in a patient with septic meningococcal peritonitis.

We report the first case of Neisseria meningitidis-induced septic peritonitis diagnosed by PCR assay of peritoneal fluid. Concentrations of interleukin-6 were notably higher in the peritoneal fluid than in the blood. PCR diagnosis of septic meningococcal peritonitis and the pathogenesis of the disease are discussed.

Purulent pericarditis caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C and confirmed through polymerase chain reaction.

We here report the case of a previously healthy 20-y-old male with disseminated meningococcal disease and purulent pericarditis. Polymerase chain reaction was used to identify Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C as the causative agent in the pericardial fluid.

Cytokine activation in purulent pericarditis caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C.

Herein, we report a case of purulent pericarditis caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C in a previously healthy 5-year-old boy, which was detected in pericardial fluid by polymerase chain reaction. The concentrations of interleukin-6, interferon-gamma and interleukin-10 in pericardial fluid were notably increased compared with serum. The role of polymerase chain reaction, counterimmunoelectrophoresis and latex agglutination test in the diagnosis, as well as the participation of cytokines in the pathogenesis of meningococcal pericarditis, are discussed.