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Microorganisms
Special Issues
Meningococcal Infections
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Meningococcal Infections

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Microbiology and Immunology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 2800

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Athanasia Xirogianni

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Guest Editor
National Meningitis Reference Laboratory, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases Surveillance, Department of Public Health Policy, School of Public Health, University of West Attica, 115 21 Athens, Greece
Interests: bacterial meningitis; N. meningitidis; S. pneumoniae; H. influenzae
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Georgina Tzanakaki

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National Meningitis Reference Laboratory, Department of Public Health Policy, School of Public Health, University of West Attica, Athens, Greece
Interests: bacterial meningitis; N. meningitidis; S. pneumoniae; H. influenzae
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Invasive Meningococcal Disease (IMD) is an acute, severe bacterial infection caused by N. meningitidis that can manifest as meningitis and/or septicemia. Rarely, meningococcus can be recovered from unusual sites causing various infections outside the bloodstream or Central Nervous System, such as respiratory, ocular, joint, and urogenital.

During the COVID-19 pandemic period, IMD cases declined; however, during the post-COVID-19 era, an increase in incidence has been observed worldwide. High-quality surveillance is needed to monitor disease incidence trends, serogroup distribution, and strain characterization (‘finetyping’—MLST, porA, and fetA typing; antibiotic resistance; and vaccine antigens).

MDPI’s Microorganisms announces the launch of the Special Issue “Meningococcal Infections”. The aim of this Special Issue is to attract submissions of research articles (original and review articles) concerning trends in IMD epidemiology or new atypical presentations due to N. meningitidis, antibiotic resistance, the emergence of new clones, vaccine coverage, or disease burden studies.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Athanasia Xirogianni
Prof. Dr. Georgina Tzanakaki
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • meningococcal infections
  • N. meningitidis
  • IMD
  • atypical presentations
  • IMD epidemiology
  • N. meningitidis vaccines

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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19 pages, 1701 KB  
Article
Changing Clinical Spectrum of Invasive Meningococcal Disease in France (2014–2025): Impact of Age and Meningococcal Lineage on Atypical Presentations
by Samy Taha, Ala-Eddine Deghmane and Muhamed-Kheir Taha
Microorganisms 2026, 14(2), 356; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms14020356 - 3 Feb 2026
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Abstract
Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is classically associated with meningitis and septic shock, but an increasing proportion of cases present with atypical, extra-meningeal manifestations. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, major epidemiological shifts have occurred in France, including a rebound in IMD incidence and changes in [...] Read more.
Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is classically associated with meningitis and septic shock, but an increasing proportion of cases present with atypical, extra-meningeal manifestations. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, major epidemiological shifts have occurred in France, including a rebound in IMD incidence and changes in circulating serogroups and clonal complexes. We conducted a nationwide retrospective study including all laboratory-confirmed IMD cases analysed by the French National Reference Centre between July 2014 and June 2025. Clinical presentations were coded as non-exclusive entities. Associations with age, serogroup, clonal complex, antimicrobial susceptibility and early mortality (≤72 h) were assessed using descriptive analyses and multivariable logistic regression models. Among 4328 IMD cases, sepsis/shock (61.1%) and meningeal involvement (54.9%) predominated, while atypical forms were frequent, including bacteraemic pneumonia (7.7%), abdominal presentations (8.0%) and arthritis (6.0%). Bacteraemic pneumonia was strongly associated with older age and serogroups W and Y, whereas abdominal forms predominated in adolescents and young adults and were independently associated with serogroups W and Y and clonal complex (cc) cc11. Abdominal presentations were independently associated with early mortality (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.40) but not meningococcal pneumonia. Abdominal presentations were associated with serogroup W (aOR 2.27; 95% CI 1.35–3.83) and serogroup Y (aOR 2.92; 95% CI 1.79–4.75) and with cc11 (aOR 1.77; 95% CI 1.07–2.94). In contrast, cc23 was associated with lower odds of abdominal involvement (aOR 0.42; 95% CI 0.25–0.70). Overall, atypical presentations now represent a substantial proportion of IMD in France and are strongly shaped by age and meningococcal lineage. These findings highlight diagnostic challenges, prognostic heterogeneity and the need for continued integrated clinical, microbiological and genomic surveillance in the context of evolving vaccination strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Meningococcal Infections)
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9 pages, 548 KB  
Case Report
Two Cases of Rare Manifestations Due to Neisseria meningitidis During the Post-COVID-19 Era in Greece
by Kalliopi Avgoulea, Genovefa Chronopoulou, Athanasia Xirogianni, Stelmos Simantirakis, Theano Georgakopoulou, Anastasios Tsakalos, Constantinos Karamalis, Lampros Nikolopoulos, Fotios Roussos, Maria Gryllia, Nektarios Marmaras, Efterpi Oikonomou, Diagoras Zarganis, Maria Orfanidou, Anastasia Pangalis, Muhamed-Kheir Taha and Georgina Tzanakaki
Microorganisms 2025, 13(9), 2071; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13092071 - 5 Sep 2025
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Abstract
Background/Objectives: Neisseria meningitidis is a human-specific pathogen capable of causing life-threatening illnesses. Occasionally, it is recovered from unusual sites, other than the bloodstream or the central nervous system. Herein, we describe two rare manifestations due to N. meningitidis within a year (2024) [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Neisseria meningitidis is a human-specific pathogen capable of causing life-threatening illnesses. Occasionally, it is recovered from unusual sites, other than the bloodstream or the central nervous system. Herein, we describe two rare manifestations due to N. meningitidis within a year (2024) in Greece. Methods: Atypical infection due to N. meningitidis was diagnosed in two different patients: Case-1 presented with an inflammatory swelling in the mid-line of the neck, and Case-2 presented with swelling of the left knee. Both patients had high fever and no neurological signs at admission; Case-2 progressed to meningoencephalitis. Phenotypic and genotypic identifications were carried out in both cases. Results: Case-1 and Case-2 isolates were identified as follows: MenX: 18, 25-44, F5-5, ST-823; 198cc and MenB: 7-1, 1, F3-3, ST-7460; 32cc for PorA, FetA and MLST, respectively. MenX was identified for the first time in Greece and finetyping revealed rare genotypic characteristics. Both isolates were susceptible to cefotaxime, ceftriaxone and rifampicin, while Case-2 isolate expressed reduced susceptibility to penicillin and resistance to ciprofloxacin. Both patients recovered fully. Conclusions: Although uncommon, N. meningitidis may be isolated from atypical sites and specimens. Clinicians and microbiologists should remain aware that meningococcus is a potential cause of infections beyond meningitis and septicaemia. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Meningococcal Infections)
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