Opa-typing can identify epidemiologically distinct subgroups within Neisseria gonorrhoeae multi-antigen sequence type
A K Morris1, H M Palmer, H Young
1Department of Clinical Microbiology, Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, Scotland, UK.
Epidemiology and Infection
|February 5, 2008
Summary
Opa-typing provides enhanced discrimination for Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains beyond Neisseria gonorrhoeae multi-antigen sequence typing (NG-MAST). This method identified distinct epidemiological features within common strains, aiding public health surveillance.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Epidemiology
- Genetics
Background:
- Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a significant cause of sexually transmitted infections.
- Ciprofloxacin resistance in N. gonorrhoeae is a growing public health concern.
- Accurate strain typing is crucial for tracking and controlling gonorrhea outbreaks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the discriminatory power of opa-typing in addition to Neisseria gonorrhoeae multi-antigen sequence typing (NG-MAST).
- To investigate the epidemiological basis of strain diversity within N. gonorrhoeae.
- To assess the utility of combined typing methods for gonorrhea surveillance.
Main Methods:
- Typing of 106 ciprofloxacin-resistant N. gonorrhoeae isolates using NG-MAST.
- Opa-typing performed on 74 isolates with non-unique NG-MAST sequence types.
- Analysis of sequence type and opa-type data for discriminatory power and epidemiological correlation.
Main Results:
- NG-MAST identified multiple sequence types among the isolates.
- Opa-typing further resolved 74 isolates into 20 distinct opa-types (OT).
- Seven opa-type clusters correlated with sequence types, and five sequence types were subdivided by opa-typing.
- Epidemiological data for the common ST 147 revealed two distinct subdivisions (OT 1 and OT 2) differing by sexual preference and geography.
Conclusions:
- Opa-typing offers a higher level of discrimination than NG-MAST alone for N. gonorrhoeae.
- Combined NG-MAST and opa-typing can reveal epidemiologically relevant subdivisions within common strains.
- These findings enhance our ability to track gonorrhea transmission and understand strain evolution.
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