[Are the antimicrobials used in community-acquired respiratory infection useful for preventing transmission of meningococcal disease? In vitro study].

This study evaluated whether certain antimicrobial agents used in the treatment of community-acquired respiratory infection were effective against the pathogen Neisseria meningitidis, whose natural habitat is the nasopharyngeal mucosa. Antimicrobial agents commonly use in primary healthcare (betalactams, cephalosporins and macrolides), quinolones and rifampicin were studied by determining minimal inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations, time-kill curves and postantibiotic effect. All of them showed bactericidal activity 24 h after incubation. We therefore believe that they are able to empirically eliminate the causative agent of meningococcal meningitis. However, the only antimicrobial agents capable of inducing a significant postantibiotic effect in the tested strain were the quinolones, which slowed down the growth of the microorganism for over 1 h.