English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Zendy Plus

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Insights

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Zendy Tools

Zendy Open

In this article of EBioMedicine, Topaz and colleagues [1] present a phylogenetic overview with more than 700 meningococcal strains isolated since the introduction of a serogroup A-specific conjugate vaccine (MenAfriVac®) in themeningitis belt. This vaccination has led to quasielimination of serogroup A disease, which used to be the predominant burden, but the emergence of a new serogroup C strain during the vaccination roll-out substantially reduced the net benefit for the region. Since their importation into this area on the Southern border of the Sahara in the early 20th century [2], meningococci have engaged into an explosive relationship with regional climate, causing thousands if not millions of deaths from meningitis. This phenomenon of the African meningitis belt, characterized by regular epidemic waves, frequent small localized epidemics and a steadily ongoing pronounced seasonal pattern [3] is a human tragedy and at the same time amost fascinating example of the complex interactions between environment, bacterial and viral pathogens, human biology and behavior. Do we understand these interactions? Only partially, but progress in epidemiological and climatological surveillance, microbiological methods and data analysis capacity have allowed a substantial leap over the last 20 years. According to the current understanding, genetic evolution of meningococcal strains are responsible for the epidemic waves that occur every 7–10 years, can span over several countries and include several consecutive dry seasons. Multilocus sequence typing, used since late 1990s, suggested that new epidemic waves were usually associated with emergence of a new sequence type. However, it was only with the arrival of whole genome sequencing (WGS) that the reasons for such emergences could be understood and questions about the importation of strains or the role of vaccination be answered. For example, Topaz et al. refer to the evidence that the ST-11 strain causing the first serogroup W epidemic in 2001 in Burkina Faso was not imported from the 2000 Hajj outbreak, but had emerged from a common ancestor that was present in West Africa already during the 1990s. Similarly, Brynildsrud et al. had suggested that the ST-10217 serogroup C strain that had caused an epidemic wave over several years in Nigeria and Niger was not a result of vaccine pressure, but

Meningococcal strain evolution, dusty dry air and respiratory tract infections: An explosive relationship