The Frequent Occurrence of Meningococci in the Nasal Cavities of Meningitis Patients and of those in Direct Contact with them.

Abstract

Everyone familiar with the investigations concerning the etiology of meningitis knows that, owing partly to the difficulty of isolating and keeping alive the meningococcus, partly to its similarity to other micrococci, the work of most investigators has been incomplete and therefore of little permanent value. As the amount of influence which the results of the investigations here recorded may exert depends largely on the degree to which others are convinced of the thoroughness of the identification of the organisms found in the nasal cavities, it seems best to review briefly the literature in order to see what characteristics the best observers con-