title: Clonal analysis of meningococci during a 26 year period prior to the introduction of meningococcal serogroup C vaccines.
abstract: Meningococcal disease remains a public health burden in the UK and elsewhere. Invasive Neisseria meningitidis, isolated in Scotland between 1972 and 1998, were characterised retrospectively to examine the serogroup and clonal structure of the circulating population. 2607 isolates causing invasive disease were available for serogroup and MLST analysis whilst 2517 were available for multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis only. Serogroup distribution changed from year to year but serogroups B and C were dominant throughout. Serogroup B was dominant throughout the 1970s and early 1980s until serogroup C became dominant during the mid-1980s. The increase in serogroup C was not associated with one particular sequence type (ST) but was associated with a number of STs, including ST-8, ST-11, ST-206 and ST-334. This is in contrast to the increase in serogroup C disease seen in the 1990s that was due to expansion of the ST-11 clonal complex. While there was considerable diversity among the isolates (309 different STs among the 2607 isolates), a large proportion of isolates (59.9%) were associated with only 10 STs. These data highlight meningococcal diversity over time and the need for ongoing surveillance during the introduction of new meningococcal vaccines.
authors.affiliation: Scottish Haemophilus, Legionella, Meningococcus and Pneumococcus Reference Laboratory, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Christopher B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Sullivan
authors.affiliation: Scottish Haemophilus, Legionella, Meningococcus and Pneumococcus Reference Laboratory, Glasgow, United Kingdom; East Midlands Pathology, Clinical Microbiology Department, Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Mathew A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Diggle
authors.affiliation: Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Robert L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Davies
authors.affiliation: Scottish Haemophilus, Legionella, Meningococcus and Pneumococcus Reference Laboratory, Glasgow, United Kingdom; Faculty of Medicine and Institute of Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Stuart C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Clarke