TY - JOUR
T1 - Group a streptococcus emm gene types in pharyngeal isolates, Ontario, Canada, 2002-2010
AU - Shea, Patrick R.
AU - Ewbank, Amy L.
AU - Gonzalez-Lugo, Javier H.
AU - Martagon-Rosado, Alexandro J.
AU - Martinez-Gutierrez, Juan C.
AU - Rehman, Hina A.
AU - Serrano-Gonzalez, Monica
AU - Fittipaldi, Nahuel
AU - Beres, Stephen B.
AU - Flores, Anthony R.
AU - Low, Donald E.
AU - Willey, Barbara M.
AU - Musser, James M.
PY - 2011/11
Y1 - 2011/11
N2 - Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is a human-adapted pathogen that causes a variety of diseases, including pharyngitis and invasive infections. GAS strains are categorized by variation in the nucleotide sequence of the gene (emm) that encodes the M protein. To identify the emm types of GAS strains causing pharyngitis in Ontario, Canada, we sequenced the hypervariable region of the emm gene in 4,635 pharyngeal GAS isolates collected during 2002-2010. The most prevalent emm types varied little from year to year. In contrast, fine-scale geographic analysis identified inter-site variability in the most common emm types. Additionally, we observed fl uctuations in yearly frequency of emm3 strains from pharyngitis patients that coincided with peaks of emm3 invasive infections. We also discovered a striking increase in frequency of emm89 strains among isolates from patients with pharyngitis and invasive disease. These findings about the epidemiology of GAS are potentially useful for vaccine research.
AB - Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is a human-adapted pathogen that causes a variety of diseases, including pharyngitis and invasive infections. GAS strains are categorized by variation in the nucleotide sequence of the gene (emm) that encodes the M protein. To identify the emm types of GAS strains causing pharyngitis in Ontario, Canada, we sequenced the hypervariable region of the emm gene in 4,635 pharyngeal GAS isolates collected during 2002-2010. The most prevalent emm types varied little from year to year. In contrast, fine-scale geographic analysis identified inter-site variability in the most common emm types. Additionally, we observed fl uctuations in yearly frequency of emm3 strains from pharyngitis patients that coincided with peaks of emm3 invasive infections. We also discovered a striking increase in frequency of emm89 strains among isolates from patients with pharyngitis and invasive disease. These findings about the epidemiology of GAS are potentially useful for vaccine research.
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U2 - 10.3201/eid1711.110159
DO - 10.3201/eid1711.110159
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84930473759
SN - 1080-6040
VL - 17
SP - 2010
EP - 2017
JO - Emerging Infectious Diseases
JF - Emerging Infectious Diseases
IS - 11
ER -