Neisseria meningitidis ST11 Complex Isolates Associated with Nongonococcal Urethritis, Indiana, USA, 2015-2016

Abstract

At a clinic in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, we observed an increase in Neisseria gonorrhoeae-negative men with suspected gonococcal urethritis who had urethral cultures positive for N. meningitidis. We describe genomes of 2 of these N. meningitidis sequence type 11 complex urethritis isolates. Clinical evidence suggests these isolates may represent an emerging urethrotropic clade.

Keywords: Neisseria; Neisseria gonorrhoeae; Neisseria meningitidis; bacteria; genome; meningitis; sexually transmitted disease; sexually transmitted infections; urethra; urethritis.

Figure

Rooted phylogenetic tree of Neisseria meningitidis sequence type 11 urethral isolates from men in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, 2015–2016, compared with representative serogroup strains of N. meningitidis. Tree was inferred by using the neighbor-joining method constructed with MEGA7 (13). The percentage of replicate trees in which the associated taxa clustered together in 500 bootstrap tests is indicated next to the branches. The tree is drawn to scale, and branch lengths correspond to evolutionary distances used to infer the phylogenetic tree. Arrow indicates urethritis strains NM1 and NM2. GC strain FA1090 was used as the outgroup. Scale bar indicates nucleotide substitutions per site.