Primary Meningococcal Pneumonia

Three cases of pneumonia caused by Neisseria meningitidis group Y are reported. From the results of these cases, the following conclusions were made. N. meningitidis probably can cause serious infection without preceding blood stream invasion. Primary meningococcal pneumonia is not rare; it has no distinctive clinical presentation; and it may not be recognized by routine expectorated sputum cultures. In addition, it may be associated with recent influenzal and adenoviral infections. Lastly, meningococci of the serogroup Y are capable of causing serious disease. Antimicrobial susceptibility studies showed that all three group Y isolates were sensitive to sulfadiazine and rifampin as well as to penicillin, ampicillin, erythromycin, and chloramphenicol.