title: Notes from the Field: Meningococcal Disease in an International Traveler on Eculizumab Therapy - United States, 2015.
abstract: On June 2, 2015, CDC was notified that a male airline passenger, aged 41 years, with a fever of 105.4°F, headache, nausea, photophobia, diarrhea, and vomiting, which began approximately 3 hours after departure, was arriving to San Francisco, California, on a flight from Frankfurt, Germany. His symptoms reportedly started with neck stiffness 1 day earlier. Upon arrival, the patient was immediately transported to a local hospital, where he was in septic shock, which was followed by multisystem organ failure. Cerebrospinal fluid, obtained approximately 12 hours after initiation of treatment, was Gram stain- and culture-negative. Blood cultures, which were drawn before antibiotic treatment, were positive for Neisseria meningitides of indeterminate serogroup. A review of the patient's medical records revealed a history of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria and current biweekly eculizumab (Soliris) therapy.
authors.forename: Allen O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Applegate
authors.forename: Vanessa C
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Fong
authors.forename: Kara
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tardivel
authors.forename: Susan A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Lippold
authors.forename: Sheilah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zarate
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000401:Aircraft; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016358:Contact Tracing; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008589:Meningococcal Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D038381:Neisseria meningitidis, Serogroup A / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014195:Travel; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; C481642:eculizumab