Recurrent Neisseria meningitidis bacteremia. Association with deficiency of the eighth component of complement (C8) in a Sephardic Jewish family.

A 24-year-old man had repeated episodes of meningococcal meningitis. Selective deficiency of the eighth component of complement (C8) was demonstrated in the patient, his twin brother, and in one of five siblings. As the parents were first cousins of normal phenotype, this pattern is suggestive of an autosomal recessive heredity. The present report brings the total number of patients given the diagnosis of C8 deficiency to 14, and calls attention to the existence of this condition in Jews of Sephardic (Mediterranean) origin.