The widening gap observed between numbers of culture confirmed and notified cases of meningococcal infection has driven the development of non-culture based polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) to enhance the detection of meningococcal disease. The development of a national PCR-based service increased the number of laboratory confirmed cases of meningococcal disease by 35% in the first year. Advancing technology in the laboratory is reducing in-lab processing time.