Causative agent
Neisseria meningitidis (serogroup A, B, C, W135, Y). Most infections are due to serogroup B.
Incubation period
4 days (range 2 to 10 days)
Transmission
Respiratory droplets and direct salivary contact with an infected person.
Epidemiology
The human upper respiratory tract is the main reservoir of carriage and site of meningococcal dissemination. There is no animal reservoir.
There were five laboratory confirmed cases of meningococcal infection in 2009. Of these, four were due to N. meningitidis group B and the other was not grouped.