Outbreak of pyrazinamide-monoresistant tuberculosis identified using genotype cluster and social media analysis

Monoresistance to pyrazinamide (PZA) has infrequently been associated with Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

To report an outbreak of PZA-monoresistant M. tuberculosis in Virginia involving two genotype clusters from December 2004 to August 2010.

Thirty cases were identified involving a predominantly young, US-born population with histories of substance use and incarceration and a large proportion of children aged <15 years (n= 6, 20%); of these, 23 cases (77%) were culture-confirmed as M. tuberculosis complex. DNA fingerprinting and molecular analysis of the PZA resistance gene, pncA, demonstrated a clonal strain that was not M. bovis. Genotypic data provided the initial link between seemingly unrelated cases, and helped reveal a historic genotype cluster of cases from 2004. Further genotype cluster and contact investigation procedures, including the novel use of the social networking website Facebook.com, revealed additional links between the 2004 and 2009 genotype clusters and described an ongoing, extensive outbreak necessitating an enhanced screening and treatment protocol for contacts.

This outbreak demonstrates how tuberculosis can spread through a young, vulnerable population. The use of genotypic data and the novel incorporation of social media investigations were critical to understanding the settings and context of infectivity.