scholarly journals Targeted vaccination of teenagers following continued rapid endemic expansion of a single meningococcal group W clone (sequence type 11 clonal complex), United Kingdom 2015

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (28) ◽  
Author(s):  
H Campbell ◽  
V Saliba ◽  
R Borrow ◽  
M Ramsay ◽  
S N Ladhani
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Clonal Complex ◽  
Virulent Strain ◽  
Sequence Type ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Clone Sequence ◽  
Meningococcal Group ◽  
Travel Abroad ◽  
Conjugate Vaccination

Since the epidemiological year 2009/10, the United Kingdom has experienced a year-on-year increase in meningococcal group W (MenW) disease due to rapid expansion of a single endemic hyper-virulent strain belonging to sequence type 11 clonal complex (cc). This strain was identified among cases diagnosed across all regions and was not linked to travel abroad. Consequently, an adolescent MenACWY conjugate vaccination programme for 13-18 year-olds will be introduced in August 2015, with priority given to 17-18 year-olds (school leavers).

scholarly journals Multi-locus sequence typing of Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus strains isolated from cats

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 126-129
Author(s):  
Ann P. Britton ◽  
Shlomo E. Blum ◽  
Carolyn Legge ◽  
Ken Sojonky ◽  
Erin N. Zabek
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Respiratory Disease ◽  
Clonal Complex ◽  
The United States ◽  
Multi Locus Sequence Typing ◽  
Neurologic Disease ◽  
Clinically Normal ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Streptococcus Equi

Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus ( S. zooepidemicus) causes outbreaks of fatal respiratory disease in dog shelters and fatal respiratory and neurologic disease in cat shelters. We conducted multi-locus sequence typing analysis on S. zooepidemicus isolates from 5 Canadian and 3 Israeli cats with severe respiratory and neurologic disease, plus 1 isolate from a clinically normal shelter cat. Our aim was to determine if feline outbreaks are clonal and whether there is commonality between feline and canine strains. ST363 was identified as the causative strain of a Canadian outbreak of S. zooepidemicus–linked disease, and is a double-locus variant of ST173, which was isolated from one of the Israeli cats. ST363 was also isolated from the clinically normal cat, indicative of the potential for enzootic infection in shelters. Strains within the ST173 clonal complex were responsible for 2 large canine outbreaks in the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as the death of 1 cat in the United States outbreak. ST215 was isolated from 2 cats in the Israeli outbreak, and is unrelated to the ST173 complex. We conclude that S. zooepidemicus outbreaks in cat shelters are clonal and that strains within the ST173 clonal complex are pathogenic for both dogs and cats.

scholarly journals High-Resolution Analysis by Whole-Genome Sequencing of an International Lineage (Sequence Type 111) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Associated with Metallo-Carbapenemases in the United Kingdom

2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (8) ◽  
pp. 2622-2631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane F. Turton ◽  
Laura Wright ◽  
Anthony Underwood ◽  
Adam A. Witney ◽  
Yuen-Ting Chan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Whole Genome Sequencing ◽  
Genome Sequencing ◽  
Sequence Type ◽  
Polymorphism Analysis ◽  
Whole Genome ◽  
Evolutionary Analysis ◽  
Accessory Gene ◽  
The United Kingdom

Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was carried out on 87 isolates of sequence type 111 (ST-111) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa collected between 2005 and 2014 from 65 patients and 12 environmental isolates from 24 hospital laboratories across the United Kingdom on an Illumina HiSeq instrument. Most isolates (73) carried VIM-2, but others carried IMP-1 or IMP-13 (5) or NDM-1 (1); one isolate had VIM-2 and IMP-18, and 7 carried no metallo-beta-lactamase (MBL) gene. Single nucleotide polymorphism analysis divided the isolates into distinct clusters; the NDM-1 isolate was an outlier, and the IMP isolates and 6/7 MBL-negative isolates clustered separately from the main set of 73 VIM-2 isolates. Within the VIM-2 set, there were at least 3 distinct clusters, including a tightly clustered set of isolates from 3 hospital laboratories consistent with an outbreak from a single introduction that was quickly brought under control and a much broader set dominated by isolates from a long-running outbreak in a London hospital likely seeded from an environmental source, requiring different control measures; isolates from 7 other hospital laboratories in London and southeast England were also included. Bayesian evolutionary analysis indicated that all the isolates shared a common ancestor dating back ∼50 years (1960s), with the main VIM-2 set separating approximately 20 to 30 years ago. Accessory gene profiling revealed blocks of genes associated with particular clusters, with some having high similarity (≥95%) to bacteriophage genes. WGS of widely found international lineages such as ST-111 provides the necessary resolution to inform epidemiological investigations and intervention policies.

Immunogenicity of a Single Dose of Meningococcal Group C Conjugate Vaccine Given at 3 Months of Age to Healthy Infants in the United Kingdom

2012 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 616-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Findlow ◽  
Ray Borrow ◽  
Nick Andrews ◽  
Pauline Waight ◽  
Elizabeth Sheasby ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Single Dose ◽  
Conjugate Vaccine ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Healthy Infants ◽  
Meningococcal Group

scholarly journals Distribution of Clostridium difficile PCR ribotype 027 in British hospitals

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (17) ◽  
Author(s):  
J S Brazier ◽  
B Patel ◽  
A Pearson
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Clostridium Difficile ◽  
Clostridium Difficile Infection ◽  
Virulent Strain ◽  
Reference Laboratory ◽  
Surveillance Programme ◽  
Ribotype 027 ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
South East England ◽  
Pcr Ribotype 027

An outbreak of Clostridium difficile infection in Stoke Mandeville hospital in south-east England [1] in 2004/2005 was primarily due to a new and possibly more virulent strain known in the United Kingdom (UK) as PCR ribotype 027. Coinciding with this outbreak, a surveillance programme of C. difficile isolates from symptomatic patients in England with additional results of outbreak investigation requests to the Anaerobe Reference Laboratory (ARL) in Cardiff has established the true extent of its spread throughout British hospitals.

Interchangeability of meningococcal group C conjugate vaccines with different carrier proteins in the United Kingdom infant immunisation schedule

Vaccine ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 648-655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shamez N. Ladhani ◽  
Nick J. Andrews ◽  
Pauline Waight ◽  
Bassam Hallis ◽  
Mary Matheson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Immunisation Schedule ◽  
Carrier Proteins ◽  
Conjugate Vaccines ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Meningococcal Group ◽  
Infant Immunisation

scholarly journals Complete Genome Sequences of Canadian Epidemic Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Strains CMRSA3 and CMRSA6

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jo-Ann McClure ◽  
Steven M. Shideler ◽  
Kunyan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Clonal Complex ◽  
Virulent Strain ◽  
Sequence Type ◽  
Genome Sequences ◽  
Methicillin Resistant ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mrsa Strains ◽  
Highly Virulent

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clonal complex 8 (CC8) sequence type 239 (ST239) represents a predominant hospital-associated MRSA sublineage present worldwide. The Canadian epidemic MRSA strains CMRSA3 and CMRSA6 are moderately virulent members of this group but are closely related to the highly virulent strain TW20.

scholarly journals Should Higher Education respond to recent changes in the forensic science marketplace?

2016 ◽  
pp. 27-32
Author(s):  
B W J Rankin ◽  
G Taylor ◽  
T J U Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Forensic Science ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Educational Impact ◽  
Home Office ◽  
Science Courses ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Professional Body ◽  
The Uk

The evolution of forensic science within the United Kingdom over the past four decades has been rapid and dynamic. This has included policy responses to highly public miscarriages of justice, introduction of commercialisation and pioneering scientific developments such as DNA profiling. However even within this context, changes within forensic science over the last two years has been unprecedented; such as the closure of The Forensic Science Service; a Home Office review of Research and Development within forensic science; the challenges facing fingerprint identification as a result of The Fingerprint Inquiry (Scotland) and the embryonic development of a new professional body for the police force. Correspondingly, development of forensic science within Higher Education (HE) has been substantially transformed from a small number of Masters Courses in forensic science delivered by a small number of universities, to a plethora of undergraduate courses now available throughout the United Kingdom. This rapid expansion of forensic science courses has been openly criticised and debated and it is incumbent upon the university to not only focus on education but also to provide graduates with transferrable skills making them more employment ready. As a consequence HE establishments must be cognisant of and reactive to changes within any associated industry and respond to changes accordingly. However, have the universities delivering forensic science courses fully responded to these recent and unprecedented developments in the history of forensic science within the United Kingdom? This paper will consider the most recent changes to the forensic science marketplace and their ramifications for forensic science education within the HE sector. Challenges which have resulted from the changes will be highlighted and the educational impact on forensic science courses throughout the UK and their future will be evaluated in chronological order.

scholarly journals Reconstruction of Dispersal Patterns of Hypervirulent Meningococcal Strains of Serogroup C:cc11 by Phylogenomic Time Trees

2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandra Lo Presti ◽  
Arianna Neri ◽  
Cecilia Fazio ◽  
Paola Vacca ◽  
Luigina Ambrosio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Bayesian Method ◽  
Clonal Complex ◽  
Dispersal Patterns ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Important Public Health ◽  
Multiple Introductions ◽  
Epidemic Dynamics ◽  
Phylogeographic Analysis ◽  
The United Kingdom

ABSTRACT Neisseria meningitidis is one of the few commensal bacteria that can even cause large epidemics of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD). N. meningitis serogroup C belonging to the hypervirulent clonal complex 11 (cc11) represents an important public health threat worldwide. We reconstructed the dispersal patterns of hypervirulent meningococcal strains of serogroup C:cc11 by phylogenomic time trees. In particular, we focused the attention on the epidemic dynamics of C:P1.5.1,10-8:F3-6;ST-11(cc11) meningococci causing outbreaks, as occurred in the Tuscany region, Italy, in 2015 to 2016. A phylogeographic analysis was performed through a Bayesian method on 103 Italian and 208 foreign meningococcal genomes. The C:P1.5.1,10-8:F3-6;ST-11(cc11) genotype dated back to 1995 (1992 to 1998) in the United Kingdom. Two main clades of the hypervirulent genotype were identified in Italy. The Tuscany outbreak isolates were included in different clusters in a specific subclade which originated in the United Kingdom around 2011 and was introduced in Tuscany in 2013 to 2014. In this work, phylogeographic analysis allowed the identification of multiple introductions of these strains in several European countries and connections with extra-European areas. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) combined with phylogeography enables us to track the dissemination of meningococci and their transmission. The C:P1.5.1,10-8:F3-6;ST-11(cc11) genotype analysis revealed how a hypervirulent strain may be introduced in previously naïve areas, causing a large and long-lasting outbreak.

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