First case of Neisseria meningitidis capsule null locus infection in China

Abstract

Invasive meningococcal diseases are rarely caused by capsule null locus (cnl) strains, which are unencapsulated owing to an absence of capsule synthesis genes. Only a few cases of cnl meningococcemia in severely immunocompromised patients have been reported. Here, we describe and discuss the first case of invasive disease in an immunocompetent patient due to a cnl strain of Neisseria meningitidis in China. We characterize this strain and discuss the special ST-198 complex of cnl.

Keywords::

• Capsule
• cnl
• Neisseria meningitidis
• non-groupable
• ST-198 complex

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The study received no financial support. This work was supported by grants from the National Key Program for Infectious Disease of China [grant no. 2013ZX10004221] and the National Basic Research Program of China [973 Program, grant no. 2011CB504900].