Long-Term Persistence of a Discotheque-Associated Invasive Neisseria meningitidis Group C Strain as Proven by Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis and porA Gene Sequencing

A cluster of a Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C strain causing invasive disease was investigated. Five out of seven cases were associated with a particular discotheque. The strains were indistinguishable, as revealed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and sequencing of variable regions of the porA gene, but caused strikingly different clinical presentations during 5 months.