title: The duality of virulence and transmissibility in Neisseria meningitidis.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Unité des Neisseria and Centre National de Référence des Méningocoque, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France. mktaha@pasteur.fr
authors.forename: Muhamed-Kheir
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Taha
authors.forename: Ala-Eddine
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Deghmane
authors.forename: Aude
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Antignac
authors.forename: Maria Leticia
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Zarantonelli
authors.forename: Mireille
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Larribe
authors.forename: Jean-Michel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Alonso
mesh_terms: 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