Tracking a serial killer: Integrating phylogenetic relationships, epidemiology, and geography for two invasive meningococcal disease outbreaks.
<h4>Background</h4>While overall rates of meningococcal disease have been declining in the United States for the past several decades, New York City (NYC) has experienced two serogroup C meningococcal disease outbreaks in 2005-2006 and in 2010-2013. The outbreaks were centered within dru...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2018-01-01
|
| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0202615 |
| _version_ | 1819037343118524416 |
|---|---|
| author | Ifeoma Ezeoke Madeline R Galac Ying Lin Alvin T Liem Pierce A Roth Andrew Kilianski Henry S Gibbons Danielle Bloch John Kornblum Paula Del Rosso Daniel A Janies Don Weiss |
| author_facet | Ifeoma Ezeoke Madeline R Galac Ying Lin Alvin T Liem Pierce A Roth Andrew Kilianski Henry S Gibbons Danielle Bloch John Kornblum Paula Del Rosso Daniel A Janies Don Weiss |
| author_sort | Ifeoma Ezeoke |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <h4>Background</h4>While overall rates of meningococcal disease have been declining in the United States for the past several decades, New York City (NYC) has experienced two serogroup C meningococcal disease outbreaks in 2005-2006 and in 2010-2013. The outbreaks were centered within drug use and sexual networks, were difficult to control, and required vaccine campaigns.<h4>Methods</h4>Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) was used to analyze preserved meningococcal isolates collected before and during the two outbreaks. We integrated and analyzed epidemiologic, geographic, and genomic data to better understand transmission networks among patients. Betweenness centrality was used as a metric to understand the most important geographic nodes in the transmission networks. Comparative genomics was used to identify genes associated with the outbreaks.<h4>Results</h4>Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C (ST11/ET-37) was responsible for both outbreaks with each outbreak having distinct phylogenetic clusters. WGS did identify some misclassifications of isolates that were more distant from the outbreak strains, as well as those that should have been included based on high genomic similarity. Genomes for the second outbreak were more similar than the first and no polymorphism was found to either be unique or specific to either outbreak lineage. Betweenness centrality as applied to transmission networks based on phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the outbreaks were transmitted within focal communities in NYC with few transmission events to other locations.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Neisseria meningitidis is an ever changing pathogen and comparative genomic analyses can help elucidate how it spreads geographically to facilitate targeted interventions to interrupt transmission. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T08:19:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1a9543f68c9b46ae82e57db2d28f783e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T08:19:54Z |
| publishDate | 2018-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-1a9543f68c9b46ae82e57db2d28f783e2022-12-21T19:10:27ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032018-01-011311e020261510.1371/journal.pone.0202615Tracking a serial killer: Integrating phylogenetic relationships, epidemiology, and geography for two invasive meningococcal disease outbreaks.Ifeoma EzeokeMadeline R GalacYing LinAlvin T LiemPierce A RothAndrew KilianskiHenry S GibbonsDanielle BlochJohn KornblumPaula Del RossoDaniel A JaniesDon Weiss<h4>Background</h4>While overall rates of meningococcal disease have been declining in the United States for the past several decades, New York City (NYC) has experienced two serogroup C meningococcal disease outbreaks in 2005-2006 and in 2010-2013. The outbreaks were centered within drug use and sexual networks, were difficult to control, and required vaccine campaigns.<h4>Methods</h4>Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) was used to analyze preserved meningococcal isolates collected before and during the two outbreaks. We integrated and analyzed epidemiologic, geographic, and genomic data to better understand transmission networks among patients. Betweenness centrality was used as a metric to understand the most important geographic nodes in the transmission networks. Comparative genomics was used to identify genes associated with the outbreaks.<h4>Results</h4>Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C (ST11/ET-37) was responsible for both outbreaks with each outbreak having distinct phylogenetic clusters. WGS did identify some misclassifications of isolates that were more distant from the outbreak strains, as well as those that should have been included based on high genomic similarity. Genomes for the second outbreak were more similar than the first and no polymorphism was found to either be unique or specific to either outbreak lineage. Betweenness centrality as applied to transmission networks based on phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the outbreaks were transmitted within focal communities in NYC with few transmission events to other locations.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Neisseria meningitidis is an ever changing pathogen and comparative genomic analyses can help elucidate how it spreads geographically to facilitate targeted interventions to interrupt transmission.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0202615 |
| spellingShingle | Ifeoma Ezeoke Madeline R Galac Ying Lin Alvin T Liem Pierce A Roth Andrew Kilianski Henry S Gibbons Danielle Bloch John Kornblum Paula Del Rosso Daniel A Janies Don Weiss Tracking a serial killer: Integrating phylogenetic relationships, epidemiology, and geography for two invasive meningococcal disease outbreaks. PLoS ONE |
| title | Tracking a serial killer: Integrating phylogenetic relationships, epidemiology, and geography for two invasive meningococcal disease outbreaks. |
| title_full | Tracking a serial killer: Integrating phylogenetic relationships, epidemiology, and geography for two invasive meningococcal disease outbreaks. |
| title_fullStr | Tracking a serial killer: Integrating phylogenetic relationships, epidemiology, and geography for two invasive meningococcal disease outbreaks. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tracking a serial killer: Integrating phylogenetic relationships, epidemiology, and geography for two invasive meningococcal disease outbreaks. |
| title_short | Tracking a serial killer: Integrating phylogenetic relationships, epidemiology, and geography for two invasive meningococcal disease outbreaks. |
| title_sort | tracking a serial killer integrating phylogenetic relationships epidemiology and geography for two invasive meningococcal disease outbreaks |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0202615 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ifeomaezeoke trackingaserialkillerintegratingphylogeneticrelationshipsepidemiologyandgeographyfortwoinvasivemeningococcaldiseaseoutbreaks AT madelinergalac trackingaserialkillerintegratingphylogeneticrelationshipsepidemiologyandgeographyfortwoinvasivemeningococcaldiseaseoutbreaks AT yinglin trackingaserialkillerintegratingphylogeneticrelationshipsepidemiologyandgeographyfortwoinvasivemeningococcaldiseaseoutbreaks AT alvintliem trackingaserialkillerintegratingphylogeneticrelationshipsepidemiologyandgeographyfortwoinvasivemeningococcaldiseaseoutbreaks AT piercearoth trackingaserialkillerintegratingphylogeneticrelationshipsepidemiologyandgeographyfortwoinvasivemeningococcaldiseaseoutbreaks AT andrewkilianski trackingaserialkillerintegratingphylogeneticrelationshipsepidemiologyandgeographyfortwoinvasivemeningococcaldiseaseoutbreaks AT henrysgibbons trackingaserialkillerintegratingphylogeneticrelationshipsepidemiologyandgeographyfortwoinvasivemeningococcaldiseaseoutbreaks AT daniellebloch trackingaserialkillerintegratingphylogeneticrelationshipsepidemiologyandgeographyfortwoinvasivemeningococcaldiseaseoutbreaks AT johnkornblum trackingaserialkillerintegratingphylogeneticrelationshipsepidemiologyandgeographyfortwoinvasivemeningococcaldiseaseoutbreaks AT pauladelrosso trackingaserialkillerintegratingphylogeneticrelationshipsepidemiologyandgeographyfortwoinvasivemeningococcaldiseaseoutbreaks AT danielajanies trackingaserialkillerintegratingphylogeneticrelationshipsepidemiologyandgeographyfortwoinvasivemeningococcaldiseaseoutbreaks AT donweiss trackingaserialkillerintegratingphylogeneticrelationshipsepidemiologyandgeographyfortwoinvasivemeningococcaldiseaseoutbreaks |