Neisseria lactamica Meningitis Following Skull Trauma

A woman developed meningitis due to Neisseria lactamica in association with a cribriform plate fracture. Cerebrospinal fluid antigen tests for Neisseria meningitidis were negative. The patient recovered with intravenous penicillin therapy. N. lactamica can be rapidly distinguished from N. meningitidis by the hydrolysis of ONPG (o-nitrophenyl-β-D-galactopyranoside). In contrats to N. meningitidis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae, N. lactamica lacks virulence properties