The presence of Neisseria meningitidis in the vagina has not been well documented. This is probably due to the rare occurrence of this organism in this anatomic site. Neisseria meningitidis, when present in humans, can usually be recovered from the blood, cerebrospinal fluid, the nasopharynx, and petechiae of the skin.1,2 Murray3 reported the isolation of this organism from the male urogenital tract in 1939. The present recovery of N meningitidis represents, in addition to a rare isolate, the possibility that the meningococcus was the etiologic agent in a case of vaginitis. Meningococci may be recovered from man in the absence of disease but have been proven to be responsible for serious illnesses such as meningococcal meningitis, bacterial endocarditis, and meningococcemia, to name a few. The association of this organism with vaginitis had not been reported.
Report of a Case
A 5-year-old Negro girl was brought by her mother