Neisseria meningitidis

Patent Granted Neisseria meningitidis, often referred to as meningococcus, is a gram negative bacterium that can cause meningitis and other forms of meningococcal disease such as meningococcemia, a life-threatening sepsis. The bacterium is referred to as a coccus because it is round, and more specifically, diplococcus because of its tendency to form pairs. It is part of the normal nonpathogenic human flora in the nasopharynx in about 10% of adults.