A first insight into tuberculosis transmission at the border of Ecuador and Colombia: a retrospective study of the population structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Esmeraldas province.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health concern in Ecuador and Colombia, considering that both countries are high-burden TB settings. Molecular epidemiology is crucial to understand the transmission dynamics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) and to identify active transmission clusters of regional importance.

Methods

We studied the potential transmission of TB between Colombia and Ecuador through the analysis of the population structure of MTBC lineages circulating in the Ecuadorian province of Esmeraldas at the border with Colombia. A total of 105 MTBC strains were characterized by 24-loci MIRU-VNTR and spoligotyping.

Results

MTBC lineage 4 is only present in Esmeraldas; no MTBC strains belonging to Lineage 2-sublineage Beijing were fou

SUBMITTER: Castro-Rodriguez B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10879341 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature