Nongonococcal urethritis can come from Neisseria: A case of N. meningitidis urethritis.

Neisseria meningitidis is a gram-negative organism known to cause invasive bacterial disease including meningitis and sepsis. Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a pathogen in the same genus and causes gonorrhea, a common sexually transmitted infection that often manifests as urethritis. N. meningitidis can also cause urethritis, yet diagnosis is difficult as it is not detectable on routine gonococcal testing. We present a case of a patient with N. meningitidis urethritis, and discuss the epidemiology and approach to diagnosis and treatment of this illness. It is important to keep N. meningitidis in the differential diagnosis for patients with nongonococcal urethritis.