Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B isolates from Cartagena, Colombia, 2012-2014.

INTRODUCTION Neisseria meningitidis is one of the leading causes of bacterial meningitis. In 2013, an increase in invasive disease caused by N. meningitidis serogroup B occurred in Cartagena, Colombia. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to characterize serogroup B isolates recovered from patients with meningococcal meningitis in Cartagena during 2012 and 2014. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty-five isolates were collected through a national, laboratory-based surveillance, and phenotypic and genotypic characteristics were determined by serosubtyping, serotyping, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, repetitive sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR). MLST data available were also used. RESULTS The B:10,15:nt phenotype, associated with clonal complex ST-41/44, was responsible for 68.0% of all cases. CONCLUSION The clinical, epidemiological and molecular characterization of meningococcal disease is necessary for understanding the spread of virulent meningococcal clones and for facilitating the early detection of cases to reduce epidemic risks.