Meningococcus

Direct Detection Of Meningococcus

• Bacterial meningitis is an extremely severe disease which, when untreated, can reach fatality rates as high as 15% 1.  Although bacterial meningitis occurs in all age groups and during all seasons, the risk of death is highest among young infants and the elderly. Those who survive can suffer serious long-term deficiencies such as brain damage, hearing loss or learning disabilities.
• One of the leading causes of bacterial meningitis is Neisseria meningitidis infection, which is referred to as meningococcal meningitis or meningococcal disease (MD).  Globally, approximately 500,000 cases of MD occur every year, causing an estimated 50,000 deaths 2.
• Meningococcal meningitis can be treated very effectively with antibiotics. Rapid and accurate detection is crucial in order to make a well-informed, timely clinical decision and apply the appropriate treatment.  Traditional culture techniques can take several days from sample to result and lack the required sensitivity and specificity. Real-time PCR gives results in a few hours but is limited to those with access to specialised, costly equipment and skilled personnel.
• Testing for bacterial DNA in whole blood and CSF are widely recommended for the diagnosis of MD 3,4. A recent study has also shown excellent specificity for nucleic acid amplification testing from minimally-invasive nasopharyngeal swabs 5.
• The HG Meningococcus assay was designed to target a consensus nucleic acid sequence which is conserved among Neisseria meningitidis strains responsible for invasive disease. The assay has been shown to amplify DNA from N. meningitidis serogroups A, B, C, 29E, W135, X, Y, Z and it gives highly sensitive, specific results from whole blood, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and nasopharyngeal swab samples in less than 60 minutes.  With a stabilised reagent mix and minimal assay steps, this assay brings simple cost-effective testing for NM within the scope of both well resourced and less well resourced laboratories.