Identification and proposal of a potentially new clonal complex that is a common cause of MenB disease in Central and Eastern Canada

Molecular characterization of Neisseria meningitidis isolates recovered from patients with invasive meningococcal disease in Colombia from 2013 to 2016

BACKGROUND

Neisseria meningitidis is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Meningococcal isolates have a highly dynamic population structure and can be phenotypically and genetically differentiated into serogroups and clonal complexes. The aim of this study was to describe the phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of invasive isolates recovered in Colombia from 2013 to 2016.

METHODOLOGY

A total of 193 invasive isolates were analyzed. Phenotypic and genotypic characteristics were determined by serotyping, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and whole-genome sequencing.

RESULTS

Based on the results, meningococcal serogroups C, B and Y were responsible for 47.9%, 41.7%, and 9.4% of cases, respectively, and the distribution of serogroups B and C changed over time. Fifteen clonal groups and 14 clonal complexes (cc) were identified by PFGE and genome sequencing. The main clonal group included serogroup B isolates with sequence type (ST)-9493 and its four single-locus variants, which has only been identified in Colombian isolates. The clonal population structure demonstrates that the isolates in this study mainly belong to four clonal complexes: ST-11 cc, ST-32 cc, ST-35 cc and ST-41/44 cc. Thirty-eight penA alleles were identified, but no correlation between MICs and specific sequences was observed.

CONCLUSION

This study shows that most meningococcal isolates recovered from patients with invasive meningococcal disease in Colombia are strains associated with distinct globally disseminated hyperinvasive clones.

Characterization of invasive Neisseria meningitidis from Atlantic Canada, 2009 to 2013: With special reference to the nonpolysaccharide vaccine targets (PorA, factor H binding protein, Neisseria heparin-binding antigen and Neisseria adhesin A)

BACKGROUND

Serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis (MenB) has always been a major cause of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) in Canada. With the successful implementation of a meningitis C conjugate vaccine, the majority of IMD in Canada is now caused by MenB.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate IMD case isolates in Atlantic Canada from 2009 to 2013. Data were analyzed to determine the potential coverage of the newly licensed MenB vaccine.

METHODS

Serogroup, serotype and serosubtype antigens were determined from IMD case isolates. Clonal analysis was performed using multilocus sequence typing. The protein-based vaccine antigen genes were sequenced and the predicted peptides were investigated.

RESULTS

The majority of the IMD isolates were MenB (82.5%, 33 of 40) and, in particular, sequence type (ST)-154 B:4:P1.4 was responsible for 47.5% (19 of 40) of all IMD case isolates in Atlantic Canada. Isolates of this clone expressed the PorA antigen P1.4 and possessed the nhba genes encoding for Neisseria heparin-binding antigen peptide 2, which together matched exactly with two of the four components of the new four-component meningococcal B vaccine. Nineteen MenB isolates had two antigenic matches, another five MenB and one meningitis Y isolate had one antigenic match. This provided 75.8% (25 of 33) potential coverage for MenB, or a 62.5% (25 of 40) overall potential coverage for IMD.

CONCLUSION

From 2009 to 2013, IMD in Atlantic Canada was mainly caused by MenB and, in particular, the B:4:P1.4 ST-154 clone, which accounted for 47.5% of all IMD case isolates. The new four-component meningococcal B vaccine appeared to offer adequate coverage against MenB in Atlantic Canada.

Genetic and antigenic characterization of invasive endemic serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis from Ontario, Canada, in 2001-2010

This study examined the antigenic and genetic diversity of serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis (MenB) recovered from invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) cases in Ontario, Canada, over the period 2001-2010 during which no MenB outbreaks had occurred. MenB was found to be responsible for 39 % of all IMD cases, with the remaining cases caused mainly by serogroups Y (28 %), C (23.5 %) and W135 (8 %). One hundred and ninety-three individual MenB case isolates were collected and characterized. Of the 88 sequence types (STs) identified, 75 were grouped into 14 known clonal complexes (CCs), whilst 13 STs were not assigned to any known CC. Fifty-seven different PorA genotypes and 88 STs defined the diversity of invasive MenB in Ontario, which supported the endemic nature of MenB disease in Ontario. Despite the presence of the hypervirulent ST-41/44 and ST-32 CCs, no single ST was predominant and responsible for a large number of IMD cases. Although the Québec outbreak clone of ST-269 was also found in Ontario, the 20 case isolates were genetically diverse: they grouped into seven STs and did not have a predominant PorA genotype. eburst analysis identified a new CC responsible for 14.5 % of the MenB case isolates. The six most common PorA variable region 2 (VR2) genotypes (VR2-9, -4, -14, -16, -13-1 and -16-3) were found in 67 % of invasive MenB isolates.