Frequency of simultaneous carriage of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis

Abstract

Gonococci were found by culture in 112 of 442 patients suspected of having gonorrhoea. Meningococci were cultured from the pharynx more than twice as often in patients harbouring gonococci (26%) than in patients from whom gonococci could not be cultured (11%). These results could indicate an individual susceptibility to Neisseria organisms or they could be caused by a difference in the behaviour of patients with and without gonorrhoea, the conduct of the former making them not only more likely to be infected with Neisseria gonorrhoeae but possibly more exposed to Neisseria meningitidis as well.