Clonal Analysis of Neisseria meningitidis Serogroup B Strains in South Africa, 2002 to 2006: Emergence of New Clone ST-4240/6688

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Chivonne Moodley, National Health Laboratory Service; Mignon du Plessis, National Health Laboratory Service; Kedibone Ndlangisa, National Health Laboratory Service; Linda de Gouveia, National Health Laboratory Service; Keith Klugman, Emory University; Anne von Gottberg, National Health Laboratory Service
• Language: English
• Date: 2012-11-01
• Publisher: American Society for Microbiology
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2012, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/JCM.01079-12
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Journal of Clinical Microbiology
• ISSN: 0095-1137
• Volume: 50
• Issue: 11
• Start Page: 3678
• End Page: 3686
• Grant/Funding Information: This project was funded, in part, by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases of the National Health Laboratory Service, the Medical Research Council, and the National Research Foundation.; From 2005 through 2008, the study was also supported by the CDC, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), Global AIDS Program (GAP) Cooperative Agreement U62/PSO022901.; Surveillance activities were supported by the NICD/NHLS and in part, from 2005 through 2006, by funds from the United States Agency for International Development's Antimicrobial Resistance Initiative, transferred via a cooperative agreement (number U60/CCU022088) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA.
• Keywords: ET-5 COMPLEX; UNITED-STATES; FIELD GEL-ELECTROPHORESIS; CONJUGATE VACCINES; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; MICROBIOLOGY; MEMBRANE VESICLE VACCINE; Microbiology; GENETIC DIVERSITY; Science & Technology; ANTIBODY-RESPONSES; INVASIVE MENINGOCOCCAL DISEASE; EPIDEMIOLOGY; PORA TYPES
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Pathology

Abstract

From August 1999 through July 2002, hyperinvasive Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B (MenB) clonal complexes (CCs), namely, ST-32/ET-5 (CC32) and ST-41/44/lineage 3 (CC41/44), were predominant in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. This study analyzed MenB invasive isolates from a national laboratory-based surveillance system that were collected from January 2002 through December 2006. Isolates were characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) (n=302), and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and PorA and FetA typing were performed on randomly selected isolates (34/302, 11%). In total, 2,400 cases were reported, with the highest numbers from Gauteng Province (1,307/2,400, 54%) and Western Cape Province (393/2,400, 16%); 67% (1,617/2,400) had viable isolates and 19% (307/1,617) were identified as serogroup B. MenB incidence remained stable over time (P=0.77) (average incidence, 0.13/100,000 population [range, 0.10 to 0.16/100,000 population]). PFGE (302/307, 98%) divided isolates (206/302, 68%) into 13 clusters and 96 outliers. The largest cluster, B1, accounted for 25% of isolates (76/302) over the study period; its prevalence decreased from 43% (20/47) in 2002 to 13% (8/62) in 2006 (P < 0.001), and it was common in the Western Cape (58/76, 76%). Clusters B2 and B3 accounted for 10% (31/302) and 6% (19/302), respectively, and showed no significant change over time and were predominant in Gauteng. Randomly selected isolates from clusters B1, B2, and B3 belonged to CC32, CC41/44, and the new CC4240/6688, respectively. Overall, 15 PorA and 12 FetA types were identified. MenB isolates were mostly diverse with no single dominant clone; however, CC32 and CC41/44 accounted for 35% and the new CC4240/6688 was the third most prevalent clone.