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The bacterium behind 21 cases of meningitis in southern England in March became a “super powerful bug” after taking genes from other microbes, finds Carissa Wong A SEVERE outbreak of invasive meningococcal disease, which can cause meningitis and sepsis, in Kent in the UK earlier this year was driven by a bacterial strain that took genes from harmless microbes. This helped the resulting bacteria evade the immune system and obtain iron from blood, boosting their growth. “What was really unusual about the outbreak is quite how explosive it was,” says Emma Wall at Queen Mary University of London, who wasn’t involved in the discovery. …
摘自《新科学家》(New Scientist)2026年10月3日,Carissa Wong。仅引用开头一小段供了解文章,版权归原刊所有,全文请阅读原刊。