Genomic analysis of Brucella melitensis isolates recovered from humans in south Tunisia over 35 years between 1988 and 2022.

ABSTRACT: Brucella melitensis is a zoonotic pathogen that poses a worldwide public health challenge. In recent years, whole-genome sequencing has become a widely accepted molecular typing method for the genomic epidemiology of brucellosis. This study reports the genomic characteristics of 24 B. melitensis strains isolated from human infections in southern Tunisia over 35 years (1988-2022). We utilized WGS to analyze the clonal relationships of these strains, their relatedness to international sequences, their antimicrobial resistance determinants, and their virulence factors. Our findings revealed a high genetic stability over three decades. All isolates were identified as B. melitensis biovar 3 and were assigned to the same sequence type, ST11, using the MLST-9 scheme. Using the MLST-21, Tunisian s

SUBMITTER: Ksibi B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11866833 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature