Meningococci in Vaginitis

Isolation of Neisseria meningitidis from the Genito-Urinary Tract and Anal Canal

“…The isolation of N. meningitidis from the genito-urinary tract has been reported previously on rare occasions (2,6,8,12,13,15) whereas its recovery from the anal canal has been cited in the literature only once (16). During 1973 and 1974, while screening for N. gonorrhoeae at the rate of approximately 39,000 to 40,000 patients per month, to encounter a strain of N. meningitidis was extremely unusual.…”

Atypical, Yet Not Infrequent, Infections with Neisseria Species

“…In several subsequent reports, the presence of N. meningitidis in the urethra was not associated with genital symptoms [78,83,84,95]. However, genital infections caused by meningococci may sometimes present similar clinical symptoms to classical gonorrhea, e.g., purulent penile discharge and urethritis, and cervicitis/vaginitis [29,30,[85][86][87]93,94] (Table 1).…”

“…In the majority of other cases described in the literature, however, patients from whom meningococci were isolated from the cervix or the urethra, did not present any signs of septicemia, and it seems unlikely that the organism reached the genital tract by the hematogenous route. In the majority of these cases, transmission by orogenital sexual activity seems probable [28,29,78,84,85]. Several cases of neonatal meningococcal meningitis associated with maternal cervical-vaginal colonization have also been reported [79,80,99], with the first report in 1997 by Harriau et al of associated oropharyngeal colonization of the male partner [96].…”

Nonsexually Transmitted Infections of the Genitalia and Anus of Prepubertal Children

“…[26][27][28] Both are sensitive to penicillin but culture and sensitivities testing, and careful confirmation of the species, are warranted. N. sicca and N. meningitidis have both been reported to cause vulvovaginitis.…”