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. 2015 Aug 31;10(8):e0135497.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0135497. eCollection 2015.

Characterization of Carriage Isolates of Neisseria meningitides in the Adolescents and Young Adults Population of Bogota (Colombia)

Jaime Moreno  1 , Melissa Hidalgo  1 , Carolina Duarte  1 , Olga Sanabria  1 , Jean Marc Gabastou  2 , Ana Belén Ibarz-Pavon  2
Affiliations

Characterization of Carriage Isolates of Neisseria meningitides in the Adolescents and Young Adults Population of Bogota (Colombia)

Jaime Moreno et al. PLoS One. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Background: Meningococcal carriage studies are important to improve our understanding of the epidemiology of meningococcal disease. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of meningococcal carriage and the phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of isolates collected from a sample of students in the city of Bogotá, Colombia.

Materials and methods: A total of 1459 oropharyngeal samples were collected from students aged 15-21 years attending secondary schools and universities. Swabs were plated on a Thayer Martin agar and N. meningitidis was identified by standard microbiology methods and PCR.

Results: The overall carriage prevalence was 6.85%. Carriage was associated with cohabitation with smokers, and oral sex practices. Non-groupable and serogroup Y isolates were the most common capsule types found. Isolates presented a high genetic diversity, and circulation of the hypervirulent clonal complexes ST-23, ST-32 and ST-41/44 were detected.

Conclusion: The meningococcal carriage rate was lower than those reported in Europe and Africa, but higher than in other Latin American countries. Our data also revealed antigenic and genetic diversity of the isolates and the circulation of strains belonging to clonal complexes commonly associated with meningococcal disease.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: Funding to the Pan-American Health Organization was provided by Sanofi-Pasteur through the Pan-American Health Organization Foundation. There are no patents, products in development or marketed products to declare. This does not alter the authors' adherence to all the PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. Additionally, the authors would like to point out that there was no direct contact between the funders and the authors.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Identification of serogroups of N. meningitidis with conventional slide agglutination and detection of capsule null (cnl) region.
The figure represents the number of isolates of N. meningitidis by serogroup. Capsulated isolates for each serogroup are represed in black, whereas non-capsulated appear in white. For the NG, those presenting the cnl insertion appear in grey, and those that could not be serogrouped by either PCR or agglutination are represented in black.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Distribution of serogroups according to N. meningitidis clonal complex.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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