People who kiss lips of more than one partner are almost four times likely to get a brain disorder that could lead to disability and eventually death, says a new study.
The incidence and fatality rate among teenagers in Britain and the US rose dramatically during the 1990s but little is known about the risk factors in adolescents.
A team of Australian researchers, which reported its findings in the British Medical Journal, looked at 144 cases of 15- to 19-year-olds who were taken to hospital with the disease.
They gave blood samples, and nose and throat swabs were also taken, reports BBC News. The researchers defined multiple partners as between two and seven in two weeks.
They said kissing one person was not linked to increased risk but said intimate kissing of different partners can quadruple a teenager's risk of developing meningitis.
Kissing with tongues enables the potentially deadly meningococcal bacteria to pass between partners, they said. Those with a history of illness were at increased risk, as were students as they mixed with large numbers of young people, they said.
"It becomes an issue only if you have two or more partners. If you have one partner the risk is far lower," said leader of the study and child health expert Robert Booy.
{{/usCountry}}"It becomes an issue only if you have two or more partners. If you have one partner the risk is far lower," said leader of the study and child health expert Robert Booy.
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