Deficiency of the eighth component of complement associated with recurrent meningococcal meningitis--case report and literature review.

The authors report a case of deficiency of the eighth component of complement in a young adult with a history of three episodes of meningitis; one of them proved to be meningococcal. The literature was reviewed and meningitis due to Neisseria meningitidis strains causing disease in complement-deficient and complement-sufficient patients was demonstrated. Meningococcal disease may be the first manifestation of complement deficiency; screening for complement function must be considered for those with invasive meningococcal disease, with posterior evaluation of the components of the terminal pathway of complement.

Invasive Haemophilus influenzae type b infection in a child with familial deficiency of the beta subunit of the eighth component of complement.

A child who had had meningitis caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b, and then had meningococcal meningitis, was found to have familial deficiency of the beta subunit of the eighth component of complement. The child had not received the H. influenzae type b vaccine. If this deficiency is discovered, we recommend that family members be screened, regardless of their health status.