An unusual transmission of Neisseria meningitidis -: Neonatal conjunctivitis acquired at delivery from the mother's endocervical infection

Background: Primary meningococcal conjunctivitis is assumed to be due to the direct inoculation of Neisseria meningitidis into the conjunctival sac from an exogenous source. According to a literature review, no case of neonatal conjunctivitis infection acquired at delivery from maternal endocervicitis has been published. Goal: To report a case of meningococcal neonatal conjunctivitis acquired at delivery because of the mother's endocervical infection and cross-transmission of the strain with her partner. Study Design: Strains were characterized by bacteriologic and serologic methods including grouping (agglutination), typing, and subtyping (enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay). Molecular analysis was done by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Results: The three strains (newborn infant, mother, partner) were of the same antigenic formula (C:NT:P1.NT) and exhibited similar NheI and SpeI pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns. Conclusion: The identical phenotypic and genomic analysis of strains is the evidence for N meningitidis transmission at delivery from a maternal endocervical infection to the newborn infant and cross transmission between sexual partners.