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. 2010 Jun 17:10:175.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2334-10-175.

The elusive meningococcal meningitis serogroup: a systematic review of serogroup B epidemiology

Vanessa N Racloz  1 , Silva J D Luiz
Affiliations

The elusive meningococcal meningitis serogroup: a systematic review of serogroup B epidemiology

Vanessa N Racloz et al. BMC Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD), is a widely distributed, complex human disease affecting all age categories. The causative agent, Neisseria meningitidis, is spread through aerosol respiratory droplets. 13 different serogroups have been identified, each with varying epidemiological features including prevalence, virulence, immunogenicity, geographical and temporal distribution. Although preventative measures are available for several of the serogroups, meningococcal disease caused by serogroup B is of particular interest due to the challenge it presents concerning vaccine development.

Methods: A systematic review of peer reviewed studies and reports, the collection of data from national and international health resources, along with the analysis of the Multi Locus Sequence Typing database was carried out aimed at collecting information concerning serogroup B IMD and the epidemiology attached to it.

Results: A continuous output of related and novel STs occurring worldwide in terms of the hypervirulent clonal complexes was observed both in published studies and the MLST database in this case using the eburst software, which highlights the genetically diverse nature of serogroup B strains.

Conclusions: With the recent dominance of serogroup B IMD seen in many countries, along with the presence of antibiotic resistance, vaccine development needs to target areas of the bacterium which tackle this widespread and heterogeneous aspect of meningococcal meningitis disease.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Incidence of Meningococcal Disease by serogroup. Distribution of meningococcal meningitis serogroups in the different regions present throughout 1994-2007. Colours correspond to the mentioned serogroups. Incidence given per 100,000 population.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of most common ST complexes for serogroup B IMD. Prevalence of the main serogroup B meningococcal disease clonal complexes found in the MLST database, accessed July 2009.
Figure 3
Figure 3
eBurst representation of IMD clonal complex 41/44. Each dot represents a ST. Distance from each ST to the founding ST located in the middle of a cluster, indicates diversity level. Dot distance shows difference in single locus variants. Only major STs are labelled.
Figure 4
Figure 4
eBurst representation of IMD clonal complex 32.
Figure 5
Figure 5
eBurst representation of IMD clonal complex 11.
Figure 6
Figure 6
eBurst representation of IMD clonal complex 8.
Figure 7
Figure 7
eBurst representation of IMD clonal complex 269, 1990's.
Figure 8
Figure 8
eBurst representation of IMD clonal complex 269, post 1990's.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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