{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,20]],"date-time":"2026-05-20T02:03:32Z","timestamp":1779242612441,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,12]],"date-time":"2022-01-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1641945600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>We assessed the characteristics of <jats:italic>Neisseria meningitidis<\/jats:italic> pharyngeal carriage in a cohort of \u2018men having sex with men\u2019, including patients with pharyngeal <jats:italic>Neisseria gonorrhoeae<\/jats:italic> infection. In the period 2017-2019, among all the oropharyngeal samples tested for gonorrhoea from MSM attending a STI Clinic in Bologna (Italy), we randomly selected 244 <jats:italic>N. gonorrhoeae<\/jats:italic>-positive samples and 403 negatives (n=647). Pharyngeal specimens were tested for <jats:italic>N. meningitidis<\/jats:italic> presence, by the detection of <jats:italic>sodC<\/jats:italic> gene. <jats:italic>N. meningitidis<\/jats:italic>-positive samples were further grouped by PCR tests for the major invasive genogroups (i.e., A, B, C, W, and Y). A molecular assay, targeting capsule transporter gene, was used to determine meningococcal capsular status. Overall, 75.8% (491\/647) of samples tested positive for <jats:italic>sodC<\/jats:italic> gene, indicating a pharyngeal meningococcal carriage. Meningococcal colonisation was significantly more frequent in younger subjects (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>=0.009), with no association with HIV infection. Non-groupable meningococci represented most of pharyngeal carriages (about 71%). The commonest <jats:italic>N. meningitidis<\/jats:italic> serogroup was B (23.6%), followed by C (2.1%), Y (1.8%) and W (1.1%). Meningococci were often characterized by the genetic potential of capsule production. Interestingly, a negative association between <jats:italic>N. meningitidis<\/jats:italic> and <jats:italic>N. gonorrhoeae<\/jats:italic> was found: pharyngeal gonorrhoea was significantly more present in patients without meningococcal carriage (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>=0.03). Although preliminary, our data added knowledge on the epidemiology of meningococcal carriage in MSM communities at high risk of gonococcal infections, gaining new insights into the interactions\/dynamics between <jats:italic>N. meningitidis<\/jats:italic> and <jats:italic>N. gonorrhoeae<\/jats:italic>.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fcimb.2021.798575","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,12]],"date-time":"2022-01-12T06:55:59Z","timestamp":1641970559000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Meningococcal Carriage in \u2018Men Having Sex With Men\u2019 With Pharyngeal Gonorrhoea"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Sara","family":"Morselli","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Valeria","family":"Gaspari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alessia","family":"Cantiani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Melissa","family":"Salvo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Claudio","family":"Foschi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Tiziana","family":"Lazzarotto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Antonella","family":"Marangoni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"506","DOI":"10.1128\/JCM.01322-10","article-title":"Persistence, Replacement, and Rapid Clonal Expansion of Meningococcal Carriage Isolates in a 2008 University Student Cohort","volume":"49","author":"Bidmos","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. 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