Hospederos de <i>neisseria meningitidis</i> , caracterización genética y contagio

Abstract

Neisseria meningitidis is a diplococcal bacterium, which lives in the nasopharynx of the human being adhering to proteins to enter epithelial cells causing meningococcal disease, according to the WHO 250,000 deaths per year are reported, which makes it a problem of worldwide public health, the population at risk are children and young people. Its genetics is based on structural differences in the capsular polysaccharide, lipooligosaccharide (LOS) and outer membrane proteins, complemented by genome sequence typing (ST). Objective: To investigate the pathogenesis of Neisseria meningitidis, genetic characteristics and its relationship with living beings through the review of scientific articles as a contribution to the prevention of infectious diseases. Methods: For the elaboration of this bibliographic research work, the analytical method applied to the information collected in certified databases such as PubMed, Scielo, Web of Science, as well as in official organizations such as the WHO and Ministerio de Salud Pública, in the search for topics related to the Neisseria meningitidis bacterium with the purpose that this research is a contribution to the scientific community. Conclusion: Meningococcus has developed multiple mechanisms to be able to transmit, adapt and colonize the mucosal surfaces of the upper respiratory tract. Certain clonal groups of this bacterium have increased the ability to replicate immediately, due to the expression of their capsular polysaccharides (serogroups B, A, C, Y and W135) causing invasive meningococcal disease.