Species Flavobacterium meningosepticum

Name: Flavobacterium meningosepticum King 1959 (Approved Lists 1980)

Category: Species

Proposed as: sp. nov.

Etymology: me.nin.go.sep’ti.cum. Gr. fem. n. mêninx (gen. mêningos), meninges, membrane covering the brain; Gr. masc. adj. sêptikos, putrefactive; N.L. neut. adj. meningosepticum, apparently referring to association of the bacterium with both meningitis and septicaemia, but not septic meningitis as the name implies

Pronunciation (Latin), gender: fla-wo-bak-TE-ri-um me-nin-go-SEP-ti-kum, neuter

Type strain: ATCC 13253; CCUG 214; CIP 60.57; DSM 2800; IFO 12535; JCM 21065; LMG 12279; NBRC 12535; NCTC 10016

Conduct genome-based taxonomy at

16S rRNA gene: AJ704540 Analyse FASTA

Effective publication: King EO. Studies on a group of previously unclassified bacteria associated with meningitis in infants. Am J Clin Pathol 1959; 31:241-247.

IJSEM list: Skerman VBD, McGowan V, Sneath PHA. Approved lists of bacterial names. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1980; 30:225-420.

Nomenclatural status: validly published under the ICNP

Taxonomic status: synonym (and not recommended for medical use)

Correct name: Elizabethkingia meningoseptica (King 1959) Kim et al. 2005

Risk group: 2

Synonyms:

Name	Kind
Chryseobacterium meningosepticum (King 1959) Vandamme et al. 1994	homotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP
Elizabethkingia meningoseptica (King 1959) Kim et al. 2005	homotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP

Notes:
- ❗ Flavobacterium meningosepticum is the correct name instead if this species is regarded as a separate species (i.e., if its nomenclatural type is not assigned to another species whose name is validly published, legitimate and not rejected and has priority) within a separate genus Flavobacterium.
- 😷 The risk group for Belgium has been imported on 2024-02-05. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "human and animal pathogen - biological class of risk animal: 2". — The risk group for Canada has been imported on 2024-02-27. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "Animal classification RG: 2 - Security sensitive biological agent: No - Terrestrial animal pathogen under Canadian Food Inspection Agency authority: No - Containment level: Containment Level 2". — The risk group for Swiss Confederation has been imported on 2024-02-01. The full classification is: risk group = 2. — The risk group for Germany has been imported on 2026-08-13. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "ht". — The risk group for France has been imported on 2024-08-30. The full classification is: risk group = 2. — The risk group for Sweden has been imported on 2024-02-05. The full classification is: risk group = 2. — The risk group for United Kingdom has been imported on 2024-01-31. The full classification is: risk group = 2. — If in doubt, use the risk group given in the regulations for your country and, if these are not available, use the risk group given in the catalogue of the culture collection from which you have obtained or intend to obtain the strain.
- 🎓 Name mentioned 298 times in PubMed until 2026-06-11.
- 🙅 This name is on the List of Recommended Names for bacteria of medical importance (LoRN) as a synonym of the name to be applied to this species. The name is on LoRN because of the recorded risk group of the species itself.

Parent taxon: Flavobacterium Bergey et al. 1923 (Approved Lists 1980)

Assigned by: King EO. Studies on a group of previously unclassified bacteria associated with meningitis in infants. Am J Clin Pathol 1959; 31:241-247.

Linking: To permanently link to this page, use https://doi.org/10.83108/rn.776254Link copied to clipboard

Record number: 776254

This LPSN page was printed on 2026-09-13 07:47:42

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Species Flavobacterium meningosepticum