Distinct evolutionary patterns of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B disease outbreaks at two universities in the USA. Issue 4 (4th April 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hao, Li; Holden, Matthew T. G.; Wang, Xin; Andrew, Lubomira; Wellnitz, Sabine; Hu, Fang; Whaley, Melissa; Sammons, Scott; Knipe, Kristen; Frace, Mike; McNamara, Lucy A.; Liberator, Paul; Anderson, Annaliesa S.
• Is Part Of: Microbial genomics. Volume 4:Issue 4(2018)
• Publication Date: 2018-04-04
• Subjects: serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis -- disease outbreak -- multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) -- whole genome sequence (WGS) -- single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) -- vaccine; Microbial genomics -- Periodicals; 572.8629
• DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.000155
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2057-5858

Abstract

Abstract : Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B (MnB) was responsible for two independent meningococcal disease outbreaks at universities in the USA during 2013. The first at University A in New Jersey included nine confirmed cases reported between March 2013 and March 2014. The second outbreak occurred at University B in California, with four confirmed cases during November 2013. The public health response to these outbreaks included the approval and deployment of a serogroup B meningococcal vaccine that was not yet licensed in the USA. This study investigated the use of whole-genome sequencing(WGS) to examine the genetic profile of the disease-causing outbreak isolates at each university. Comparative WGS revealed differences in evolutionary patterns between the two disease outbreaks. The University A outbreak isolates were very closely related, with differences primarily attributed to single nucleotide polymorphisms/insertion-deletion (SNP/indel) events. In contrast, the University B outbreak isolates segregated into two phylogenetic clades, differing in large part due to recombination events covering extensive regions (>30 kb) of the genome including virulence factors. This high-resolution comparison of two meningococcal disease outbreaks further demonstrates the genetic complexity of meningococcal bacteria as related to evolution and disease virulence.