Abstract
Molecular genotyping of Mycobacterium tuberculosis allows for the identification of circulating lineages and sublineages in the population and their relationship with migratory movements. The purpose of this review is to describe the phylogeography of Mycobacterium tuberculosis reported in South American countries that was analyzed using genotyping tools, analyze the Tuberculosis hotspots for the region and determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Tuberculosis control program. The Latin American Mediterranean (LAM) sublineage belonging to the Euro-American lineage (Lineage 4) presents the highest prevalence in South America and is followed by the Beijing sublineage belonging to the East Asian lineage (Lineage 2). The Beijing sublineage is considered of worldwide interest because of its association with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), which is almost entirely distributed in South America, with Peru being the country with the highest prevalence for this sublineage. On the other hand, the Indo-Oceanic (Lineage 1), India-East Asia (Lineage 3) and West- African 2 (Lineage 6) sublineages have been reported with lower prevalence in South America. The molecular techniques used in the genotyping studies for Mycobacterium tuberculosis in South America were as follows: typing by complementary oligonucleotide spacer sequences (Spoligotyping), restriction-hybridization patterns (IS6110-RFLP, PGRS-RFLP), mycobacterial interspaced repeat units-variable number tandem repeats (MIRU-VNTR) and whole genome sequencing (WGS). At present, Brazil and Peru are the hotspots for tuberculosis and MDR-TB in South America, where the control of tuberculosis wholly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, there have been significant impacts on containment programs and possible post-pandemic scenarios such that scientific contributions will need to be evaluated and implemented with new strategies for prevention, diagnosis, treatment and control of Tuberculosis.
Highlights
Molecular genotyping of Mycobacterium tuberculosis allows for the identification of circulating lineages and sublineages in the population and their relationship with migratory movements
The Beijing sublineage is considered of worldwide interest because of its association with multidrugresistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), which is almost entirely distributed in South
This review describes the phylogeography of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) sublineages reported in South American countries that was analyzed using genotyping tools, analyzes the TB hotspots in South America, and determines the impact of COVID-19 on TB control strategies
Summary
The molecular epidemiology of MTB aims, by a comparative analysis of nucleic acid sequences of strains to determine the relationship when the stains descend from a common ancestor and where the level of closeness and similarity between isolates varies. MIRUVNTR is a highly stable, fast, reproducible and highly discriminatory technique, which is why it is considered for epidemiological studies, population genetics and phylogenetic studies of pathogens belonging to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) (Babai Kochkaksaraei et al, 2019; Jiménez et al, 2017). These two molecular techniques are the most widely used for studying the genotyping of MTB, and MIRUVNTR is used more often in developing countries of South America than WGS
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