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. 2024 Nov;30(11):2409-2413.
doi: 10.3201/eid3011.241068. Epub 2024 Oct 20.

Invasive Group A Streptococcus Hypervirulent M1UK Clone, Canada, 2018-2023

Alyssa R Golden, Averil Griffith, Gregory J Tyrrell, Julianne V Kus, Allison McGeer, Marc-Christian Domingo, Jennifer Grant, Jessica Minion, Paul Van Caeseele, Guillaume Desnoyers, David Haldane, Yang Yu, Xiaofeng Ding, Laura Steven, Jan McFadzen, Courtney Primeau, Irene Martin

Invasive Group A Streptococcus Hypervirulent M1UK Clone, Canada, 2018-2023

Alyssa R Golden et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2024 Nov.

Abstract

To determine invasive group A Streptococcus trends in Canada, we characterized emm1 isolates collected during 2018-2023. The percentage of hypervirulent M1UK lineage isolates increased significantly, from 22.1% in 2018 to 60.2% in 2023. Genomic analysis identified geographically and temporally associated clusters and genes associated with virulent bacteriophage acquisition.

Keywords: Canada; M1UK; Streptococcus pyogenes; antimicrobial resistance; bacteria; emm1; group A Streptococcus; scarlet fever.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Expansion of invasive group A Streptococcus emm1 and the M1UK lineage in Canada, 2018–2023. A) Number of emm1 isolates collected, by quarter. B) Percentage of M1UK isolates among emm1 isolates collected. Q1, January–March; Q2, April–June; Q3, July–September; Q4, October–December. Annual proportions of emm1 are listed above the bars. Intermediate indicates an isolate with a partial M1UK genotype; not sequenced indicates an isolate that was submitted to the National Microbiology Laboratory as line-listed typing data only.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Maximum-likelihood core single-nucleotide variant phylogeny for 1,069 invasive group A Streptococcus M1UK lineage isolates collected in Canada, 2018–2023. Eleven large clusters are shown, each containing 10–280 isolates.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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