Neisseria meningitidis appartient au genre Neisseria de la famille des Neisseriaceae. Deux esp~ces sont pathog~nes pour I'homme : Neisseria gonorrhoeae et N. meningitidis. Ces bact~ries ont la morphologie typique de diplocoques & coloration de Gram n6gative. Ce sont des bact~ries a6robies, immobiles, oxydase et catalase positives, acidifiant un nombre limite de glucides. L'identification des souches de N. meningitidis isolees des cas d'infection invasive reste ais6e. Cependant, les souches isol~es du tractus respiratoire peuvent presenter des profils atypiques. Outre I'identification bacteriologique et I'antibiogramme, les souches de N. meningitidis font I'objet de typages antig~niques (serogroupe, s~rotype, s~ro-sous-type). Le s~rogroupe refl~te I'identit~ de la capsule et permet de d6finir les prophylaxies vaccinales et la surveillance de cet agent potentiel d'epidemies.
Neisseria meningitidisidentification -typage -s(~rogroupe -antibiotiques.
Bacteriological diagnosis of Neisseria meningitidis
Neisseria meningitidis belong to the genus Neisseria of the family Neisseriaceae. Two species are pathogenic for humans : Neisseria gonorrhoeae, N. meningitidis. These bacteria have the typical shape of Gram-negative diplococcL They are strict aerobes, non motile, oxydase and catalase positive, acidifying a limited number of sugars. Meningococcal strains that are isolated from invasive infections are usually easily identified. However, strains that are isolated from respiratory pathway may show atypical profiles. Beside their bacteriological determination and antibiotic susceptibility testing, N. meningitidis strains are phenotyped serologically (serogroup, serotype, serosubtype). Serogroup is based on the antigenic nature of the meningococcal capsule. It is crucial to determine serogroup to select the appropriate vaccines to prevent secondary cases as weft as for epidemiological surveillance of this potentially epidemic bacterium.