Establishment of the European meningococcal strain collection genome library (EMSC-GL)

Journal article

Invasive meningococcal disease surveillance in Europe combines isolate characterisation and epidemiological data to support public health intervention. A representative European Meningococcal Strain Collection (EMSC) of IMD isolates was obtained, and whole genome sequenced to characterise 799 EMSC isolates from the epidemiological year July 2011–June 2012. To establish a genome library (GL), the isolate information was deposited in the pubMLST.org/neisseria database. Genomes were curated and annotated at 2,429 meningococcal loci, including those defining clonal complex, capsule, antigens, and antimicrobial resistance. Most genomes contained genes encoding B (n = 525; 65.7%) or C (n = 163; 20.4%) capsules; isolates were genetically highly diverse, with >20 genomic lineages, five of which comprising 60.7% (n = 485) of isolates. There were >350 antigenic fine-types: 307 were present once, the most frequent (P1.7-2,4:F5-1) comprised 8% (n = 64) of isolates. Each genome was characterised for Bexsero Antigen Sequence Typing (BAST): 25.5% (n = 204) of isolates contained alleles encoding the fHbp and/or the PorA VR1 vaccine component, but most genomes (n = 513; 64.2%) did not contain the NadA component. EMSC-GL will support an integrated surveillance of disease-associated genotypes in Europe, enabling the monitoring of hyperinvasive lineages, outbreak identification, and supporting vaccine programme implementation.

Authors: Bratcher, HB; Brehony, C; Heuberger, S; Pieridou-Bagatzouni, D; Krizova, P

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
• Journal: Eurosurveillance
• Volume: 23
• Issue: 20
• Pages: 1-11
• Publication date: 2018-05-17
• Acceptance date: 2017-10-27
• DOI: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2018.23.20.17-00474
• EISSN: 1025-496X
• ISSN: 1560-7917