title: Characterisation of invasive meningococcal isolates from Italian children and adolescents.
abstract: Meningococcal invasive disease is a life-threatening infection that affects mostly children and adolescents. The present study was performed during 2003-2005 to compare the phenotypic characteristics of meningococcal isolates from these two main groups at risk with those of isolates from other age groups to assess whether strategies for treatment and prevention implemented elsewhere can also be applied in Italy. The results showed that serogroup C meningococci were predominant, and that a dramatic increase in the circulation of strains with decreased susceptibility to penicillin was associated mainly with a prevalent phenotype C:2b:P1.5,2, which belongs to the hyper-virulent ST8/A4 cluster.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-Mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), Rome, Italy. pmastran@iss.it
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mastrantonio
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sofia
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Neri
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fazio
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stefanelli
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008585:Meningitis, Meningococcal / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D038542:Neisseria meningitidis, Serogroup C / Q000145:classification* / Q000187:drug effects*; D010406:Penicillins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018571:Sentinel Surveillance; D012703:Serotyping
chemical_list: D010406:Penicillins