Outbreak Strain Characterisation and Pharyngeal Carriage Detection Following a Protracted Group B Meningococcal Outbreak in Adolescents in South-West England

Between April 2016 and September 2017, four cases of group B meningococcal disease were reported among sixth-form college students in Bristol, UK. Culture and non-culture whole genome sequencing was utilised and demonstrated that the four genomes of the responsible ST-41 strains clustered closely on a sub-lineage of ST-41/44 clonal complex. The outbreak resulted in two fatalities. A distinct social group associated with one of the cases was selected for vaccination with 4CMenB and pharyngeal swabbing. In vitro culturing, multiple real-time PCR assays (sodC, ctrA and siaD) and a PorA PCR-sequencing assay were used to detect meningococcal colonisation and a carriage rate of 32.6% was observed. Furthermore, a high proportion of the pharyngeal swabs (78.3%) yielded a Factor H-Binding Protein (fHbp) nucleotide allele suggesting that the antigenic gene is prevalent among non-meningococcal flora, most likely Neisseria commensals. This may have implications for fHbp as a vaccine antigen should it be shown to influence bacterial colonisation.