Five cases of disseminated meningococcal disease due to serogroup W135 Neisseria meningitidis are presented. The cases ranged in age from 16 months to 23 years, and spanned a clinical spectrum from mild meningitis without rash or evidence of meningococcal septicemia to severe meningoencephalitis with fulminant meningococcemia, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and death. These cases demonstrate that serogroup W135 N meningitidis is fully pathogenic for man and capable of producing the full spectrum of disseminated meningococcal disease associated with other serogroups. Since this serogroup has recently emerged as a significant cause of disease in Europe, attention should be focused on the correct serogroup designation of strains of N meningitidis isolated from clinical material and reported as "nongroupable" by clinical laboratories, so that additional clinical and epidemiologic information may be obtained.
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