The duality of virulence and transmissibility in Neisseria meningitidis.
Neisseria meningitidis is a commensal bacterium of the human nasopharynx that occasionally provokes invasive disease. Carriage strains of N. meningitidis are heterogeneous, more frequent in nature and are transmitted among carriers. Disease is not a part of this transmission cycle and is caused by virulent strains. N. meningitidis is highly variable and variants that are modified in their virulence and/or transmissibility are continually generated. These events probably occur frequently, thus explaining not only the heterogeneous nature of meningococcal populations in carriers but probably also the evolutionary success of this human-restricted bacterium.
Taha
Muhamed-Kheir
MK
Unité des Neisseria and Centre National de Référence des Méningocoque, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France. mktaha@pasteur.fr
Deghmane
Ala-Eddine
AE
Antignac
Aude
A
Zarantonelli
Maria Leticia
ML
Larribe
Mireille
M
Alonso
Jean-Michel
JM
D002353:Carrier State / Q000382:microbiology*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D008589:Meningococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000635:transmission*; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000382:microbiology; D009345:Neisseria meningitidis / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics