Opa typing of Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains isolated from patients attending sexually transmitted disease clinics in China.
BACKGROUND
Gonorrhoea has been one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in China. A clear understanding of its transmission dynamics is important in formulating prevention and control measures.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the distribution of opa types in patients attending at STD clinics in China and to evaluate the concordance between epidemiologic data and opa-typing results.


METHODS
Opa typing was conducted for 330 Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains isolated from the patients at 4 STDs clinics in China, and the epidemiologic data were collected as well.


RESULTS
A total of 309 opa types were detected from the 330 isolates. Two hundred ninety-two opa types were unique, and 17 opa types were found in more than 1 patient. Opa typing confirmed all 9 sexual links that were revealed by epidemiologic information and further identified 9 opa clusters and 8 similar pairs.


CONCLUSIONS
Opa typing is a discriminatory tool that can be used in epidemiologic studies on gonococcal infections. This technique is more powerful than epidemiologic data to identify sexual links and improve our understanding of the transmission dynamics of gonorrhoea.
Chen
Qiang
Q
Department of STD Reference Laboratory, China CDC National Center for STD Control, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS), China.
Yin
Yue-Ping
YP
Dai
Xiu-Qin
XQ
Yu
Yan-Hua
YH
Wang
Hong-Chun
HC
Zhu
Bang-Yong
BY
Gao
Xing
X
Chen
Xiang-Sheng
XS
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D002648:Child; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006069:Gonorrhea / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial