Isolation of Neisseria meningitidis from anogenital sites in adolescents: clinical implications.

Neisseria meningitidis is being increasingly isolated from the urethra, cervix, and anal canal of sexually active individuals. We found a similar phenomenon in inner-city black and Hispanic adolescents. In 1981, cultures of 92 isolates of Neisseria were made from the anogenital region of sexually active adolescents; 81 (88.0%) were N. gonorrhoeae, 3 (3.3%) could not be speciated, and 8 (8.7%) were N. meningitidis. Since N. meningitidis has been associated with urethritis and pelvic inflammatory disease, it should be considered a pathogen when identified in the urethra or cervix and should be appropriately treated. The health implications of isolating N. meningitidis from the anal canal are less clear, although it has been rarely associated with proctitis. Neisseria isolates from anogenital sites cannot be assumed to be gonococci and, therefore, should be distinguished from N. meningitidis.