Antimicrobial Resistance of Neisseria meningitidis in the United States, 1997

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Abstract
Neisseria meningitidis is a leading cause of meningitis and sepsis in the United States, and the case-fatality rates associated with these infections are high, despite appropriate antimicrobial therapy. Although clinical isolates resistant to penicillin have been reported since 1985, antimicrobial-resistant N. meningitidis has rarely been reported in the United States [1], and penicillin is still regarded as the antimicrobial agent of choice for treating meningococcal disease [2]. Resistance to other antimicrobial agents such as rifampin and ciprofloxacin would prompt changes in current recommendations for chemoprophylaxis [3]. We analyzed N. meningitidis isolates from an active surveillance to estimate the prevalence of infection with resistant menin-gococci.