How meningitis bacteria 'slip under the radar'

Scientists have discovered a natural temperature sensor in a type of bacteria that causes meningitis and blood poisoning. The sensor allows the bacteria to evade the body's immune response, leading to life-threatening infections. Professor Christoph Tang, who led the research at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, said: 'These infections are extremely dangerous to vulnerable groups, particularly young children, and can cause blindness, brain damage and limb loss. We hope that this research will help us understand how the bacteria cause disease, and might one day help us prevent serious infection. Professor Tang's team found that increasing temperature causes the bacteria to make more of a protective layer, or capsule, that surrounds the bacterium like an 'invisibility cloak' and helps it evade detection by the immune system. Their research suggests that people may be more susceptible to infection by the bacteria when they have a high temperature, and could explain why outbreaks of flu (which causes fever) are often followed by an increase in cases of sepsis and meningitis. The findings also shed light on how these bacteria evolved into dangerous killers and might help scientists develop new vaccines against the bacteria in future.