Interest of postmortem-collected specimens in the diagnosis of fulminant meningococcal sepsis.

Marie-Cécile Ploy (1, 2) , Fabien Garnier (2, 3) , Jeanne Languepin , Véronique Fermeaux , Christian Martin (2, 3) , François Denis (1, 2)

1 UNILIM - Université de Limoges
2 EA3175 - Biologie moléculaire et cellulaire des microorganismes
3 Service de Bactériologie, Virologie, Hygiène [CHU Limoges]

We reported the case of a child who died of purpura fulminans. The diagnosis of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C could be assessed using postmortem specimens collected up to 10 h after death. We were able to identify the bacteria by culture and/or PCR on samples without having autopsy performed. Soluble antigens were also detected in serum.

Domaines: Bactériologie; Virologie; Maladies infectieuses

Marie-Cécile Ploy, Fabien Garnier, Jeanne Languepin, Véronique Fermeaux, Christian Martin, et al.. Interest of postmortem-collected specimens in the diagnosis of fulminant meningococcal sepsis.. Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease, 2005, 52 (1), pp.65-6. ⟨10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2004.12.012⟩. ⟨hal-00403354⟩