Open AccessInsights on Population Structure and Within-Host Genetic Changes among Meningococcal Carriage Isolates from U.S. Universities
Author(s) -
Sandeep J. Joseph,
Nadav Topaz,
How-Yi Chang,
Melissa Whaley,
Jeni Vuong,
Alexander Chen,
Fang Hu,
Susanna Schmink,
Laurel T. Jenkins,
Lorraine D. RodriguezRivera,
Jennifer D. Thomas,
Anna M. Acosta,
Lucy A. McNamara,
Heidi M. Soeters,
Sarah Mbaeyi,
Xin Wang
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
msphere
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.749
H-Index - 39
ISSN - 2379-5042
DOI - 10.1128/msphere.00197-20
Subject(s) - carriage , neisseria meningitidis , outbreak , multilocus sequence typing , meningococcal disease , population , meningococcal vaccine , biology , vaccination , medicine , microbiology and biotechnology , virology , genotype , genetics , gene , bacteria , environmental health , pathology
U.S. university students are at a higher risk of invasive meningococcal disease than the general population. The responsible pathogen,Neisseria meningitidis , can be carried asymptomatically in the oropharynx; the dynamics of meningococcal carriage and the genetic features that distinguish carriage versus disease states are not completely understood. Through our analyses, we aimed to provide data to address these topics. We whole-genome sequenced 1,514 meningococcal carriage isolates from individuals at three U.S. universities, two of which underwent mass vaccination campaigns following recent meningococcal outbreaks. We describe the within-host genetic changes among individuals carrying a strain with the same molecular type over time, the primary strains being carried in this population, and the genetic differences between closely related outbreak and carriage strains. Our results provide detailed information on the dynamics of meningococcal carriage and the genetic differences in carriage and outbreak strains, which can inform future efforts to reduce the incidence of invasive meningococcal disease.