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Related Experiment Video

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A Microscopic Phenotypic Assay for the Quantification of Intracellular Mycobacteria Adapted for High-throughput/High-content Screening

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Published on: January 17, 2014

Changing Mycobacterium tuberculosis population highlights clade-specific pathogenic characteristics.

G D van der Spuy¹, K Kremer, S L Ndabambi

¹Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, DST/NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research/MRC Centre for Molecular and Cellular Biology, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa. gvds@sun.ac.za

Tuberculosis (Edinburgh, Scotland)

|December 5, 2008

Summary

The Beijing clade of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains has exponentially increased in South Africa, driven by drug-susceptible infections. This emergence poses a significant challenge to tuberculosis control efforts.

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Area of Science:

Microbiology
Epidemiology
Evolutionary Biology

Background:

Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains are classified into major clades based on evolutionary markers.
These clades may possess distinct properties influencing local population structures and disease dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

To analyze the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) caused by predominant clades (Beijing, Haarlem, LAM, Quebec, Low-Copy Clade) in Cape Town over 12 years.
To investigate if different clades exhibit varying epidemiological characteristics and clinical outcomes.

Main Methods:

Retrospective analysis of TB case incidence stratified by M. tuberculosis clade.
Longitudinal study over a 12-year period in a Cape Town community.
Comparison of drug-susceptible and drug-resistant strain dynamics across clades.

Main Results:

The Beijing clade incidence increased exponentially (doubling time 4.86 years), while other clades remained stable.
Beijing clade growth was solely due to drug-susceptible strains.
Drug-susceptible Beijing cases showed higher sputum positivity and lower treatment success rates compared to non-Beijing cases.

Conclusions:

The rapid emergence of Beijing strains indicates adaptation to the local environment and presents a major challenge for TB control.
Enhanced pathogenicity, rather than transmissibility, is suggested as the driver for Beijing strain success.
Targeted interventions may be necessary to address the growing burden of Beijing clade TB.