Meningitis bacteria dress up as human cells to evade our immune system

Meningitis bacteria dress up as human cells to evade our immune system. New study could lead to development of new vaccines against meningitis %0A " - Imperial College London and University of Oxford news release Under STRICT EMBARGO for - 13. Eastern Time / 18. London Time - Wednesday 18 February 2009 The way in which bacteria that cause bacterial meningitis mimic human cells to evade the body's innate immune system has been revealed by researchers at the University of Oxford and Imperial College London. The study, published in , could lead to the development of new vaccines that give better protection against meningitis B, the strain which accounts for the vast majority of cases of the disease in the UK. Meningitis involves an inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and the spinal cord as the result of an infection. The infection can be due to a virus or bacteria, but bacterial meningitis is much more serious with approximately 5 percent of cases resulting in death.