A set of genes has been found by researchers that renders people more susceptible to meningitis.

The international team looked at DNA from 1,400 people with bacterial meningitis and 6,000 healthy individuals, Nature Genetics reports.

They found differences in a group of genes involved in immune responses that make people more or less vulnerable to the infection.

They are hoping the findings could lead to new vaccines.

The researchers were looking at the form of meningitis caused by Neisseria meningitidis bacterium, which leads to the swelling of the lining of the brain and blood poisoning.

This is not the first time researchers have tried to find if some folks are more open to the virus due to their genetic make up.

Older results have been unclear, likely due to the small studies.

The latest study scanned the genetic code of 475 British patients with meningococcal disease and 4,700 healthy individuals.

A clear difference has been found in a small set of genes known to be involved in the immune system response.

When they looked again in other European populations, they found the same results.

The differences in genetics found shows that in some people the bacteria is able to avoid the immune system and cause infection, while other immune systems are better equipped for fight it.

The genes encode for a protein called factor H, and factor H related proteins.

Where flaws are, the meningococcal bacteria is able to bind to the proteins to keep the immune system from recognizing it, similar to a Trojan horse, and enabling it to get a strong hold in your body.

Study author Professor Michael Levin, who is an expert in international child health at Imperial College London, said the new information could be particularly useful in developing a vaccine against Meningitis B, which is now responsible for the most cases in the UK.

There is already an effective vaccine agains Meningitis C.

"It seems that the genetic differences in factor H between people is what determines susceptibility or resistance.

"It suggests it may be an important protein to include in vaccines, and factor H is already one of the candidates for meningitis B vaccine."

He said the results are going to help scientists better tweak vaccines to be more effective in the entire population.

It could also open up new areas for improving treatment once people have bacterial meningitis, he said.

Sue Davie, the chief executive of the Meningitis Trust, said, "This exciting work has thrown new light on factors that play a part in determining why some people get meningococcal disease and others do not.

"Further work will be needed to establish just what the genetic differences are in the genes which actually cause this susceptibility to invasive infection, but this is a promising start."