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The immune Response to the Capsular Polysaccharide of Neisseria meningitidis Group B

1997; Elsevier BV; Volume: 285; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s0934-8840(97)80001-1

0934-8840

José Diaz‐Romero, I Outschoorn,

Neonatal and Maternal Infections

Meningococcal meningitis caused by Neisseria meningitidis (Nmg) is currently an important health problem in both the developed and developing countries (17). Viru­ lent strains, i. e., those which have been isolated from the blood stream or cerebrospi­ nal fluid are invariably capsulated. This capsule surrounds each organism and enables it to avoid host defenses. The Nmg capsule is made up of high molecular weight an­ ionic polysaccharides which form the basis of the serological classification of the spe­ cies into distinct serogroups. More than 90% of the strains isolated from patients be­ long to the serogroups A, Band C. Group B alone accounts for 50-70% of the cases and is the only pathogenic meningococcus for which no vaccine is currently available.