Immunological investigations of meningococcal disease. III. Brevity of group C acquisition prior to disease occurrence.

A surveillance program to determine group C meningococcal acquisition in military personnel during an epidemic was made. Data from fortnightly nasopharyngeal cultures show that individuals who were admitted with meningococcal disease acquired the organism within a week of disease onset. There were 24 company/platoons in which a single case occurred. Six company/platoons had 2 cases each. While other conditions which could act as predisposing factors were not ruled out, the data here favor acute respiratory disease as a predisposing factor(s) that may cause the increased incidence of meningococcal disease seen in military recruits. The exact mechanism is yet to be defined.