Pneumonia as a clinical form of meningococcal infection caused by serogroup W meningococcus

Objective. To analyze the clinical and pathogenetic features of generalized meningococcal infection (GMI) caused by N. meningitidis serogroup W. Subjects and methods. The clinical presentation of the disease was studied using the case histories of 92 patients (90 adults and 2 children, whose age was 3 to 62 years) with GMI caused by N. meningitidis serogroup W, who were hospitalized in Moscow Infectious Diseases Clinical Hospital Two in 2011-2018. Clinical examples are given. The findings were statistically processed using the generally accepted parametric methods for variation statistics. Results. The data of Moscow Infectious Diseases Clinical Hospital Two show that there has been an increase in the incidence of GMI caused by N. meningitidis serogroup W in the past 8 years from 1% in 2011 to 34.1% in 2018. Moreover, pneumonia is frequently diagnosed as an independent disease entity. Its development and generalized infection are often preceded by catarrhal laryngitis. In GMI caused by serogroup W meningococcus, pneumonia develops until a rash and meningeal syndrome appear. The disease is characterized by a severe course and high mortality rates and requires a longer inpatient treatment than infection caused by N. meningitidis serogroups A, B, and C.

generalized meningococcal infection, serogroup W meningococcus, laryngitis, pneumonia, meningitis, meningococcemia, latex agglutination reactions, PCR