Neisseria meningitidis disease-associated clones in Amazonas State, Brazil

Background: The aim of this study is to describe the molecular epidemiology of Neisseria meningitidis invasive disease before the introduction of serogroup C conjugate vaccine in Amazonas State in 2010.

Methods: Meningococcal disease reported cases were investigated in Amazonas State during the period 2000–2010. N. meningitidis isolates (n = 196) recovered from patients were genotyped by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and sequencing of porB, porA, fetA, fHbp and penA. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined using E-test.

Results: In the study period, 948 cases were reported; the incidence was 2.8 for the entire state and 4.8 per 100,000 in the capital of Manaus. Most meningococcal disease was caused by N. meningitidis belonging to ST-32 (72%; 141/196) or ST-103 (21%; 41/196) clonal complexes. Capsular switching (B→C) was suggested within clonal complex (cc) 32. There were 6 (3%; 6/196) strains with intermediate susceptibility to penicillin and a single strain was resistant to rifampicin. Since 2007, serogroup C strains belonging to the cc103 have predominated and case-fatality has increased.

Conclusion: We demonstrate a high rate of meningococcal disease in Amazonas State, where, like other parts of Brazil, serogroup C replaced serogroup B during 2000s. These data serve as a baseline to measure impact of serogroup C conjugate vaccine introduction in 2010. This study emphasizes the need for enhanced surveillance to monitor changes in meningococcal disease trends following the introduction of meningococcal vaccines.