Serogroup and Clonal Characterization of Czech Invasive Neisseria meningitidis Strains Isolated from 1971 to 2015

BACKGROUND This study presents antigenic and genetic characteristics of Neisseria meningitidis strains recovered from invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) in the Czech Republic in 1971-2015. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 1970 isolates from IMD, referred to the National Reference Laboratory for Meningococcal Infections in 1971-2015, were studied. All isolates were identified and characterized by conventional biochemical and serological tests. Most isolates (82.5%) were characterized by multilocus sequence typing method. RESULTS In the study period 1971-2015, the leading serogroup was B (52.4%), most often assigned to clonal complexes cc32, cc41/44, cc18, and cc269. A significant percentage of strains were of serogroup C (41.4%), with high clonal homogeneity due to hyperinvasive complex cc11, which played an important role in IMD in the Czech Republic in the mid-1990s. Serogroup Y isolates, mostly assigned to cc23, and isolates of clonally homogeneous serogroup W have also been recovered more often over the last years. CONCLUSION The incidence of IMD and distribution of serogroups and clonal complexes of N. meningitidis in the Czech Republic varied over time, as can be seen from the long-term monitoring, including molecular surveillance data. Data from the conventional and molecular IMD surveillance are helpful in refining the antimeningococcal vaccination strategy in the Czech Republic.