[Concern of the bacteriology laboratory in the diagnosis and surveillance of gonococcal and meningococcal infections].

The usual laboratory of bacteriology has an essential role in isolation, bacteriological diagnostic and testing of resistance towards antibiotics of gonococcal infections. Searching of beta-Lactamase will be carried out when inhibition diameters around penicillinase C disks will be inferior to 18 mm. The specialized laboratory will bring along useful information through the study of epidemiologic markers: auxotyping, plasmid characterization (connection with african types (2.6 and 3.7 M-daltons) and with South-East Asia (2.6; 4.5 and 24.5 M-daltons) and eventually serotypings by using proteins from outer-membrane. A similar action will be taken by all laboratories of bacteriology: isolation, identification, susceptibility searching and serogrouping from meningococci isolated from rhinopharynx and from C.S.F. or from blood culture. Eight groups whose specificities are carried by capsular polysaccharides are actually described (A, B, C, X, Y, Z, 29E and W135). The electrosyneresis will be useful when bacteria will not be possible to isolate. Serotyping techniques whose importance is essential are still depending on specialized laboratory.