Genomic analysis of endemic clones of toxigenic and non-toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae in Belarus during and after the major epidemic in 1990s.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Diphtheria remains a major public health concern with multiple recent outbreaks around the world. Moreover, invasive non-toxigenic strains have emerged globally causing severe infections. A diphtheria epidemic in the former Soviet Union in the 1990s resulted in ~5000 deaths. In this study, we analysed the genome sequences of a collection of 93 C. diphtheriae strains collected during and after this outbreak (1996 - 2014) in a former Soviet State, Belarus to understand the evolutionary dynamics and virulence capacities of these strains.

Results

C. diphtheriae strains from Belarus belong to ten sequence types (STs). Two major clones, non-toxigenic ST5 and toxigenic ST8, encompassed 76% of the isolates that are associated with sore throat and diphtheria in patients, r

SUBMITTER: Grosse-Kock S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5683216 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature