Recurrent meningococcal infections in a patient with congenital C5 deficiency.
A congenital C5 deficiency was the cause of recurrent meningococcal disease in a 27-year-old man. The lack of serum bactericidal activity accounts for the higher incidence and the different course of Neisseria infections in patients with a deficiency of the late complement components. Early antibiotic treatment and vaccination with a capsular polysaccharide meningococcal vaccine (A,C,Y,W-135) should be considered.
Department of General Internal Medicine, University Hospitals, K. U. Leuven, Belgium.
A
A
Bols
J
J
Janssens
W
W
Peetermans
E
E
Stevens
H
H
Bobbaers
D000328:Adult; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D003167:Complement Activation; D003182:Complement C5 / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007153:Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D008585:Meningitis, Meningococcal / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D022401:Meningococcal Vaccines; D012008:Recurrence
D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D003182:Complement C5; D022401:Meningococcal Vaccines