RAPID RISK ASSESSMENT Invasive meningococcal disease among men who have sex with men

On 25 June 2013, Germany reported three cases of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) among men who have sex with men (MSM) caused by N. meningitidis serogroup C. All three isolates were serogroup C, PorAVR1: 5-1; PorA-VR2: 10-8 and FetA: 3-6 and confirmed as ST-11/ET-15. On 26 June, Belgium retrospectively reported (via EPIS-VPD) a single case of IMD in a homosexual male diagnosed in March 2013; infection was due to a strain of the same sequence type as the German strain. The patient had reported travel to London in the three weeks prior to onset of illness. On 26 June, France reported three cases of IMD among MSM living in the Paris area. The three isolates were also of the same sequence type as the German and Belgian strains.