title: Populations of pharyngeal meningococci in Niger.
abstract: This study investigated the carriage of Neisseria meningitidis group W135 (NmW135) belonging to sequence type (ST)-2881, ST-11 and NmA ST-7, as these three lineages have been responsible for sporadic cases in 2003 in Niamey (Niger). ST-7 and ST-11 were also the two genotypes involved in recent outbreaks in the African meningitis belt. Among the 97 Nm isolates obtained from 287 schoolchildren swabbed three times, 1 was identified as NmA, 34 as NmW135, 8 as NmY and 54 were non-groupable (NG). Among the 86 isolates genotyped, 59.3% belonged to ST-192, 24.4% to ST-2881, 5.8% to ST-2880, 4.6% to ST-175, 3.5% to ST-4899, 1.2% to ST-11 and 1.2% to ST-7. Most of the isolates recovered were weakly pathogenic Nm NG ST-192 and NmW135 ST-2881. These results, although preliminary, are important to consider before introduction of a NmA conjugate meningococcal vaccine in Africa.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Médecine Tropicale du Service de Santé des Armées (IMTSSA), WHO Collaborating Center for Reference and Research on Meningococci, BP 46, 13998 Marseille, France. nicolasp@imtssa.fr
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nicolas
authors.forename: Saacou
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Djibo
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tenebray
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Castelli
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stor
authors.forename: Amina Amadou
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Hamidou
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boisier
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chanteau
mesh_terms: D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008585:Meningitis, Meningococcal / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D038582:Neisseria meningitidis, Serogroup W-135 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009548:Niger / Q000453:epidemiology; D010614:Pharynx / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial