Description and nomenclature of Neisseria meningitidis capsule locus by Harrison, O, Claus, H, Jiang, Y, Bennett, J, Bratcher, H, Jolley, K, Corton, C, Care, R, Poolman, J, Zollinger, W, Frasch, C, Stephens, D, Feavers, I, Frosch, M, Parkhill, J, Vogel, U, Quail, M, Bentley, S, Maiden, M

“… <p>Pathogenic Neisseria meningitidis isolates contain a polysaccharide capsule that is the main virulence determinant for this bacterium. …”

Neisseria meningitidis serogroup X sequence type 767 in Turkey. by Kiliç, A, Bedir, O, Basustaoglu, A, Bratcher, H, Jolley, K, Mert, G

Molecular characterization of invasive capsule null Neisseria meningitidis in South Africa by Ganesh, K, Allam, M, Wolter, N, Bratcher, H, Harrison, O, Lucidarme, J, Borrow, R, de Gouveia, L, Meiring, S, Birkhead, M, Maiden, M, von Gottberg, A, du Plessis, M

Genotypic and phenotypic characterization of carriage and invasive disease isolates of Neisseria meningitidis in Finland. by Jounio, U, Saukkoriipi, A, Bratcher, H, Bloigu, A, Juvonen, R, Silvennoinen-Kassinen, S, Peitso, A, Harju, T, Vainio, O, Kuusi, M, Maiden, M, Leinonen, M, Käyhty, H, Toropainen, M

Genome-based characterization of emergent invasive Neisseria meningitidis serogroup Y isolates in Sweden from 1995 to 2012. by Törös, B, Hedberg, S, Unemo, M, Jacobsson, S, Hill, D, Olcén, P, Fredlund, H, Bratcher, H, Jolley, K, Maiden, M, Mölling, P

“…Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup Y has increased in Europe, especially in Scandinavia. …”

Nasal inoculation of the commensal Neisseria lactamica inhibits carriage of Neisseria meningitidis by young adults: A controlled human infection study. by Deasy, A, Guccione, E, Dale, A, Andrews, N, Evans, C, Bennett, J, Bratcher, H, Maiden, M, Gorringe, A, Read, R

“…Given the inverse epidemiological association between colonization by commensalNeisseria lactamicaand meningococcal disease, we investigated whether controlled infection of human volunteers withN. lactamicaprevents colonization byNeisseria meningitidis.</p> <h4>Methods</h4> <p>In a block-randomized human challenge study, 310 university students were inoculated with 10^4 colony-forming units ofN. lactamicaor were sham-inoculated, and carriage was monitored for 26 weeks, after which all participants were reinoculated withN. lactamicaand resampled 2 weeks later.…”

A gene-by-gene population genomics platform: de novo assembly, annotation and genealogical analysis of 108 representative Neisseria meningitidis genomes. by Bratcher, H, Corton, C, Jolley, K, Parkhill, J, Maiden, M

Evolutionary and genomic insights into meningococcal biology by Bratcher, H, Bennett, J, Maiden, M

“…Epidemic disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis, the meningococcus, has been recognized for two centuries, but remains incompletely controlled and understood. …”

UKMenCar4: a cross-sectional survey of asymptomatic meningococcal carriage amongst UK adolescents at a period of low invasive meningococcal disease incidence by Bratcher, H, Rodrigues, C, Finn, A, Wootton, M, Cameron, C, Smith, A, Heath, P, Ladhani, S, Snape, M, Pollard, A, Cunningham, R, Borrow, R, Trotter, C, Gray, S, Maiden, M, Maclennan, J

“…Carriage of Neisseria meningitidis , the meningococcus, is a prerequisite for invasive meningococcal disease (IMD), a potentially devastating infection that disproportionately afflicts infants and children. …”

The influence of IS1301 in the capsule biosynthesis locus on meningococcal carriage and disease. by Kugelberg, E, Gollan, B, Farrance, C, Bratcher, H, Lucidarme, J, Ibarz-Pavon, AB, Maiden, M, Borrow, R, Tang, C

“…Previously we have shown that insertion of IS1301 in the sia/ctr intergenic region (IGR) of serogroup C Neisseria meningitidis (MenC) isolates from Spain confers increased resistance against complement-mediated killing. …”

The genus Neisseria by Bennett, J, Bratcher, H, Brehony, C, Harrison, O, Maiden, M

“…Most members of the genus are not, or are very rarely, pathogenic, but the genus contains the globally significant pathogens Neisseria meningitidis, the meningococcus, and Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the gonococcus. …”