Detection of a geographical and endemic cluster of hyper-invasive meningococcal strains

作者：Bertrand Sophie^*; Van Meervenne Eva; De Baere Thierry; Vanhoof Raymond; Collard Jean Marc; Ruckly Corinne; Taha Muhamed; Carion Francoise

来源：Microbes and Infection, 2011, 13(7): 684-690.

DOI：10.1016/j.micinf.2011.02.006

• Neisseria meningitidis
• Cluster
• Multilocus sequence typing
• Meningococcal infection
• Surveillance
• Monitoring

From 2006 to December 2009, 45 out of the 513 strains isolated from patients with invasive meningococcal disease in Belgium, were identified as Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B, non-serotypeable, subtype P1.14 (B:NT:P1.14). Most cases were geographically clustered in the northern part of the country. Multilocus Sequence Typing and antigen gene sequencing combined with Pulsed-Field Gel electrophoresis were used to investigate this cluster. Molecular typing showed that 39 out of these 45 N. meningitidis strains belonged to the clonal complex cc-269. The presence of the same PorA Variable Regions (VR1-VR2: 22, 14), the FetA allele (F5-1) and the highly similar Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis profiles, supported genetic relatedness for 38 out of these 39 isolates. Retrospective analysis of B:NT:P1.22,14 isolates from 1999 onwards suggested that these strains belonging to the cc-269 complex, first emerged in the Belgian province of West-Flanders in 2004. This study showed that the combination of molecular tools with classical methods enabled reliable outbreak detection as well as a cluster identification.

• 出版日期2011-7