title: Invasive serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis in Quebec, Canada, 2003 to 2010: persistence of the ST-269 clone since it first emerged in 2003.
abstract: In the era after the introduction of the meningococcal serogroup C conjugate vaccine, from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2010, serogroup B meningococci were the major cause of invasive meningococcal disease in the province of Québec, Canada, being responsible for 72% of all meningococcal disease cases. Of the 334 invasive serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis strains analyzed, 53.9% belonged to the ST-269 clonal complex (CC). Since it first emerged in 2003, the percentage of invasive serogroup B isolates that belonged to the ST-269 CC had increased from 35% in 2003 to 76% in 2010. Among the 180 meningococci in the ST-269 CC, 91.7% belonged to a single ST (ST-269). The most common PorA genotypes identified in the ST-269 CC were (i) VR1 19-1, VR2 15-11, VR3 36 (84%) and (ii) VR1 18-7, VR2 9, VR3 35-1 (9%). Cases of invasive disease due to the ST-269 CC were commonly found in those aged 11 to 19 years (30.5%) and 20 to 40 years (25.5%). Meningococci of the ST-269 CC were uncommon in other Canadian provinces. In contrast to the ST-269 CC, invasive serogroup B meningococci that belonged to the ST-41/44 CC were much more diverse genetically. However, one ST (ST-571), which is uncommon in the United States, accounted for 35% of all cases due to this CC. The current finding suggests that the ST-269 clone may indeed represent an emerging hypervirulent clone of meningococci.
authors.affiliation: Vaccine Preventable Bacterial Diseases, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
authors.forename: Jianwei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lefebvre
authors.forename: Saul
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Rodica
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gilca
authors.forename: Genevieve
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Deceuninck
authors.forename: Dennis K S
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Law
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: De Wals
authors.forename: Raymond S W
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Tsang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008589:Meningococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing; D038541:Neisseria meningitidis, Serogroup B / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015995:Prevalence; D011792:Quebec / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult