Searching for acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis-associated Streptococcus pyogenes in Australian aboriginal communities.

Abstract

Acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis (APSGN) occurs both endemically and epidemically in the Top End Northern Territory (NT) Aboriginal population. The M55 serotype has been implicated in APSGN outbreaks in two communities in the NT in 19801 and a 1993 North Queensland outbreak.2 Nevertheless, many Group A streptococci (GAS) from the Aboriginal communities in the tropical northern regions of Australia are M-non-typeable (over 60%).3, 4 To overcome problems with a phenotypic serologically based typing system, we routinely use Vir-typing, a genotyping method based on the RFLP pattern of the 4–7kb Vir regulon of GAS,5, 6 combined with sequencing of the M-protein gene (emm) to characterise the sequence type (ST) of the isolates.