Molecular characterization of invasive serogroup Y Neisseria meningitidis strains isolated in the Latin America region.
OBJECTIVE
To improve the understanding of serogroup Y invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) in Latin America, particularly IMD molecular epidemiology; 166 Y serogroup isolates received at the National Reference Laboratories of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Costa Rica during 2000-2006 were characterized by their molecular markers.


METHODS
This analysis included serological assays to determine serogroup/serotype/serosubtype, DNA sequencing and genotyping of the porB and/or porA genes, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and fetA allele determination.


RESULTS
Sixteen different antigenic combinations were observed. Sixty-two (37.3%) isolates were NT:P1.5 and 36 (21.7%) isolates were 14:NST. Thirty-two different STs appeared, but 3 STs (ST-1624, ST-23, and ST-5770) accounted for 69.9% (116) of the strains. Most of the IMD isolates belonged to the ST-23, ST-167 clonal complexes or the group composed by ST-5770 and related STs.


CONCLUSIONS
Isolates obtained in Colombia and Costa Rica were similar to that of the United States, in that most sequence types belonged to the ST-23 clonal complex. IMD isolates found in Argentina appear to be the result of an independent event and did not spread from nearby countries, being the sequence type ST-1624 (ST-167 clonal complex) the most frequently found. We were unable to correlate an antigenic shift of outer membrane proteins with an increase of serogroup Y meningococcal cases in our collection of isolates.
Abad
Raquel
R
Reference Laboratory for Meningococci, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Ctra Majadahonda-Pozuelo, Km2, 28220 Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain.
Agudelo
Clara I
CI
Brandileone
M Cristina
MC
Chanto
Grettel
G
Gabastou
Jean Marc
JM
Hormazabal
Juan Carlos
JC
O Gorla
M Cecilia
MC
Maldonado
Aurora
A
Moreno
Jaime
J
Muros-Le Rouzic
Erwan
E
Lersch
Robert
R
Regueira
Mabel
M
Salcedo
Celia
C
Sorhouet
Cecilia
C
Vázquez
Julio A
JA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007843:Latin America / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008589:Meningococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D038581:Neisseria meningitidis, Serogroup Y / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018272:Porins / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012703:Serotyping; D055815:Young Adult
D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; C093120:FrpB protein, bacteria; D018272:Porins; C057699:porin protein, Neisseria