Name: Neisseria meningitidis (Albrecht and Ghon 1901) Murray 1929 (Approved Lists 1980)

Category: Species

Proposed as: comb. nov.

Basonym: "Micrococcus meningitidis" Albrecht and Ghon 1901

Etymology: me.nin.gi’ti.dis. Gr. fem. n. mêninx (gen. mêningos), meninges, membrane covering the brain; N.L. fem. n. suff. -itis, suffix used for inflammation; N.L. gen. fem. n. meningitidis, of inflammation of the meninges, of meningitis

Pronunciation (Latin), gender: … me-nin-GI-ti-dis, feminine

Type strain: ATCC 13077; CCUG 3269; CIP 73.10; DSM 10036; NCTC 10025; Sara E. Branham M1027

Conduct genome-based taxonomy at

16S rRNA gene: JN175351 Analyse FASTA

Effective publication: Murray EGD. The meningococcus. Medical Research Council (Great Britain) Special Report Series 1929; 124:7-142.

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: correct name (and explicitly recommended for medical use)

Risk group: 2

• Synonyms:

  • Name	Kind
    "Micrococcus meningitidis" Albrecht and Ghon 1901	homotypic synonym, not validly published, basonym of name in Approved Lists

• Notes:
  • 🧬 The phylogenomic assignment score of this taxon is 0.16158 (N = 7).
  • 😷 The risk group for Belgium has been imported on 2024-02-05. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "human pathogen". — The risk group for Canada has been imported on 2024-02-27. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "Animal classification RG: 1 - 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 2023-10-29. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "V". — The risk group for France has been imported on 2024-08-30. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "V(1)". — The risk group for Taiwan has been imported on 2024-11-03. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "P650 = v". — The risk group for United Kingdom has been imported on 2024-01-31. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "Vaccine available". — The risk group for United States has been imported on 2024-02-09. 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 9108 times in PubMed until 2025-06-04.
  • 🙆 This name is on the List of Recommended Names for bacteria of medical importance (LoRN) as the name to be applied to this species. The name is on LoRN because of the recorded risk group of the species itself.
  • 🧍 According to Bartlett et al. (2022), this species is an established human pathogen. Publication: Bartlett A, Padfield D, Lear L, Bendall R, Vos M. A comprehensive list of bacterial pathogens infecting humans. Microbiology (Reading) 2022; 168:0. 🇬🇧
  • 🧍 This name was treated in Judicial Opinion 35. Publication: Judicial Commission. Judicial Opinion No. 35. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1970; 20:13-14.

Parent taxon: Neisseria Trevisan 1885 (Approved Lists 1980)

Assigned by: Murray EGD. The meningococcus. Medical Research Council (Great Britain) Special Report Series 1929; 124:7-142.

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Record number: 778634