Rapid and Fatal Meningococcal Disease Due to a Strain of Neisseria meningitidis Containing the Capsule Null Locus

Abstract

This is the first reported case of fatal meningococcal disease caused by an acapsular cnl strain of N. meningitidis that was isolated from an immunocompetent host. Routine molecular diagnostic methods targeted at the cnl locus failed to detect this organism, indicating a need to determine the incidence of infection with cnl strains among patients with culture-negative invasive disease.