The genetic characteristics of Neisseria meningitidis causing invasive meningococcal infections in Smolensk region

Abstract

Objective. To determine antigenic and genetic characteristics of Neisseria meningitidis isolated from the patients with invasive meningococcal infections in Smolensk region in comparison with those circulating in other regions. Materials and Methods. A total of 14 cerebrospinal fluid samples obtained in 2016–2019 and containing N. meningitidis DNA were tested using AmpliSens® Nm-ABCW kit, multilocus sequence typing and antigenic finetyping of outer membrane proteins. The results were analyzed by the BURST algorithm and other functionalities available at PubMLST.org (Jolley K. et al. 2018). Results. The variable region alleles, sequence types and clonal complexes were determined for the tested isolates. The genotyping results were published in the PubMLST database (https://pubmlst.org/neisseria/). Most of N. meningitidis serogroup B isolates (n = 6) belonged to sequence types which have not been described previously: ST-14705, ST-14710, ST-14711, ST-14713 and ST-14717. Sequence types of serogroup C isolates (n = 7) were usual for strains circulating in other Russian regions (4 of 7 belonged to ST-8416). The only serogroup Y isolate belonged to ST-11585. Conclusions. Most studied N. meningitidis sequence types belonged to clonal complexes designated in PubMLST database and groups of isolates, determined by the BURST algorithm, which were usual for Russian regions. The antigenic and genetic characteristics suggest no circulation of epidemiologically significant N. meningitidis strains or hypervirulent strains on the observed territory.