FAMILY NEISSERIACEAE 



297 



and Neumann, Bakt. Diag., 1 Aufl., 2, 

 1896, 132; Micrococcus intraccllularis 

 Migula, Syst. d Bakt., 2, 1900, 189; 

 Micrococcus meningococcus cerebrospi- 

 nalis Albrecht and Ghon, Wiener klin. 

 Wochnschr., U, 1901, 988; not Strepto- 

 coccus weichselbaurnii Chester, Man. 

 Determ. Bact., 1901, 64; not Meningo- 

 coccus intracellularis Jaeger, Cent. f. 

 Bakt., I Abt., Orig., 33, 1903, 23; Micro- 

 coccus meningitidis Albrecht and Ghon, 

 Cent. f. Bakt., I Abt., Orig., 33, 1903, 

 498 ; Diplococcus intracellularis Weichsel- 

 baum, Cent. f. Bakt., I Abt., Orig., 33, 

 1903, 511; Micrococcus intracellularis 

 meningitidis de Bettencourt and Franga, 

 Ztschr. f . Hyg., 46, 1904, 464 ; Diplococcus 

 meningitidis, ibid., 495; Holland, Jour. 

 Bact., 5, 1920, 224; Neisseria intracel- 

 lularis-meningitidis Holland, ibid., 224; 

 Neisseria intracellularis Holland, ibid., 

 224; see also Elser and Huntoon, Jour. 

 Med. Res., 20 fN. S. 15), 1909, 371 and 

 Murray, Med. Res. Council, London, 

 Special Report Series No. 124, 1929 for 

 detailed studies of the group.) From 

 Greek, meninx, meninges, a membrane, a 

 membrane covering the brain; M. L. 

 genitive of meningitis, an inflammation 

 of the meninges. 



The binomial, Neisseria intracellularis, 

 used in previous editions of the Manual 

 has proved confusing because the names 

 Micrococcus intracellularis, Diplococcus 

 intracellularis and Streptococcus intra- 

 cellularis, have been used loosely foi- 

 unrelated organisms . Neisseria weichsel - 

 baumii has been so rarely and loosel.y 

 used that any attempt to introduce it 

 now is inadvisable despite rights of 

 prioritJ^ The equally available name, 

 Neisseria meningitidis, has therefore 

 been adopted to avoid further confusion. 

 It has the obvious advantage of associ- 

 ation with the common name, meningo- 

 coccus, which has been so freciuently used 

 in the literature. 



In 1898, Councilman, Mallory antl 

 Wright (Epidemic Cerebrospinal Menin- 

 gitis and its Relation to Other Forms of 



Meningitis, Boston, 1898) definitely 

 established the Gram-negative coccus as 

 the cause of epidemic meningitis and 

 clarified the confusion created because 

 Jaeger regarded the coccus that he 

 isolated (see Diplococcus crassus von 

 Lingelsheim) as identical with Neisseria 

 meningitidis. 



Spheres : 0.6 to 0.8 micron in diameter, 

 occasionally larger, occurring singh-, in 

 pairs with adjacent sides flattened, or 

 occasionallj- in tetrads. Gram-negative. 



Good growth is obtained on media con- 

 taining blood, blood serum and other 

 enrichment fluids with added glucose. 

 Best growth on special media. 



Blood agar plates are generally em- 

 ployed to isolate the organism. The 

 colonies are small, slightly convex, trans- 

 parent, glistening. Colonies large on 

 special media. 



Older cultures may show growth on 

 neutral agar or glucose agar, properly 

 prepared. Frequent transplantation is 

 necessary to keep the organism alive in 

 recently i.solated strains ; older strains 

 survive for one month or longer at 37°C 

 and for years on special media. 



Acid from glucose and maltose. No 

 acid from fructose, sucrose and mannitol. 



Nitrites not produced from nitrates 

 (Branham). 



Optimum temperature 37°C. No 

 growth at 22° or at 40°C. 



Aerobic, no growth anaerobically. 



Common name: Meningococcus. 



Source: Originalh' found in cerebi-o- 

 spinal fluid. Also found in nasopharynx , 

 blood, conjunctiva, pus from joints, 

 petechiae in skin, etc. 



Habitat: Nasopharynx of man, not 

 found in other animals. Cause of epi- 

 demic cerebrospinal fever (meningitis). 



Four main varieties or types of Neis- 

 seria meningitidis have been differen- 

 tiated by Gordon and Murray (Jour. 

 Roy. Army :\Ied. Corps, 25 (2), 1915, 

 423) and by others on the basis of agglu- 

 tination reactions with immune serums. 



